Kia Ora

Saturday 15 November 2008

The thing about Auckland is you never seem to be short of something to do.So today it was a break from driving and it was back on the ferry and a plan to visit a couple of markets.

Now the Britomart building is a transport hub but on a weekend it becomes home to a small farmers market seeling excellent local produce,it was also playing host to about 200 Halifax bank workers filming their latest commercial which was interesting to watch as they formed human pyramids!!

Both Mel and I are suckers for a local food market and within minutes we had snapped up sweet peppers and turkish pide,this was closely followed by some local blue cheese.We can't believe that it hasn't rained since we arrived and it was super hot again today,but with our daypacks full of goodies we set off for the short walk to Victoria Park market.To be honest it was a bit of a disappointment but we got chance to refuel on noodles and juice before the walk across town to Albert Park.

We sat and enjoyed the sunshine and peace and quiet with lots of other people,the birds were hopping around and watching us with the same curiosity,it was then I had the idea to throw them a few pieces of our Turkish bread which went down a treat and suddenly we had around 50 birds wanting feeding!!!

A few hours had passed and we got back to Devonport to find that the sun had got the better of our blue cheese and turned it into soft cheese so it was straight in the refrigerator to try and bring it back from mushy oblivion... While dinner was marinating away we took ourselves off to the beach for a swim,but not being water babies didn't consider that the tide could be out and indeed it was about as far out as it could have got so we settled for reading and watching the kite surfers which looks like a cool sport,you basically strap yourself to a big kite and let it drag you across the top of the water wiith a board strapped to your feet.It was then back to the house for our lovely marinated lamb,turkish bread and salad..

Sunday 16th November 2008

I had stayed up to watch the England team lose at rugby last night so I expected to rise quite late this morning but quite the opposite occured and i awoke before Mel and early for a Sunday.We got our breakfast and ablutions routine out of the way before heading South over the bridge (finished in 1959) to Mission Bay along Tamaki Drive. You can actually see Mission Bay from Devonport it is fairly close but to get there by car is quite a drive just because of how the area is geologically put together.

As usual the parks were packed and boats were out in force despite it being a bit cooler today.We wandered around for a while and Mel insisted that I dip my feet in the sea which was colder than I expected but she insisted that it was good for my foot that I had cut yesterday!!!

By now it was brunch time our weekly treat so it was to the Mecca beach cafe where we tucked ourselves in a corner and worked our way through a delicious brunch of hot cakes with mixed berries and ricotta and creamy mushrooms with chorizo and perla potatoes with a good cup of English breakfast tea....

Today was about exploring and Manakau Harbour was next wel it would have been if we could have found it and decided that it really wasn't worth the effort and the map Mel had was rubbish so it was back on the SH1 and a turn off at Newmarket onto Mel's favourite road name,The Khyber Pass.This unforeseen detour did spring up a surprise and we stumbled acroos a Harey Davidson dealer which was shut but we had a good look through the window with our noses pressed against the glass.

Confidence was high again so we spun through a few more suburbs trying to place them in our heads and get to grips with road names.Had time to fit in the beach for a couple of hours and the kitsurfers were at it again.We have never been beach people but when it is on your doorstep it is amazing how much you use it.

Lots of Love

M & M

xx