Kids up first! Gwyn made them crumpets for breakfast, much to their delight! Less delighted to do school work with L while D packed car! Eventually set off just after 12 after saying goodbye to Gwyn, and set off west. First stop: Titirangi for food shopping and to buy a NZ road map. Then drove down to the beach (black sand!) where there was a kids playground. After 20 mins playing, followed the scenic drive to Arataki Information Centre. Lots of information ...

Breakfast, school work, then waited for the hire car to be delivered. An old, white (except for the rust), slightly battered Mazda! Cheap - thus perfect for our purposes! Quick drive round the block to get used to the car and fill up with petrol (~£1.10/L). Drove to Mount Eden Domain, and climbed to the top of the extinct volcano - great crater, ~50 m across, 30 m deep, with really steep sides! A sacred site (tapu) so it is requested that you don't climb do...

Lazy morning chatting to Gwyn & 2 visiting Aussies (John & Jenny): the parents in law of one of the Australian rugby team. Started to think about options re: travel in NZ - D phoned around for a good car hire deal. Weather predicted to be poor over the next few days (intermittent showers) so decided to do Auckland based things for a couple of days. Walked with Gwyn & Molly into Royal Oak for a look around the shops, then to One Tree Hill Domain, ...

Set alarm for 7am - hectic hour getting everyone out of bed, dressed, breakfasted & car packed. Ready to leave by 8.20. Said farewell to the Blackburns, and set off for Sydney. Lovely clear bright day - easy drive up the highway to the car hire depot - dealt with final paperwork, and were driven to Departures. Long queue at check-in, until the Quantas staff started pulling passengers for certain flights pout of the queue. Straight through passport &am...

Leisurely start to the day. After breakfast / coffee / chatting, D&L drove to Berry. Pretty little town - nosed around a few shops for a while, found a good vintage / 2nd hand shop - bought a book each for the kids (The Borrowers for M / Artimis Fowl for J). Hid in a coffee shop for 20 mins to avoid downpour, then headed back to Kiama. Food shopping for tonight's cottage pie & veggies, and a few "stock" items to replenish the cupboards. Back to Jambe...