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A land of two halves (a great read!) aka New Zealand.
Hello from Sydney again...but boy do we have a few tales to tell of our 5 week trip to New Zealand.
First things third..lets get you up-to-date with our Christmas antics. As you know we were staying in the Blue Mountains having an awesome time exploring the area-Wentworth Falls being beautiful besides the fact it was a downhill stretch for an hour and took nearly double for me to get back up! I don't think the cafe in Leura were all to impressed with our sweaty approach? We managed to catch up with the Melbourne bays at our favorite hostel (The Wake up) and i didn't even pay. A story i shall save for when i see you. But with Andy and Kelly due to arrive and lots of places to see we decided to splurge and stay as many nights as we could at the hotel in Ryde with them. Not that you realised did you, andy and kelly, they were so jet lagged when we collected them that even as we got our bags out of the car with their suitcases and started checking in they didn't have a clue what was going on-they thought we were somehow gate crashing their room?
Of course Andy and Kelly's first comments were "you're not very brown?" it is a working holiday you know-which generally means we pick up a tan and loose it very quickly when you are stuck inside all day. Home and Away isn't all its cracked up to be..i swear they have St Tropez every week. So be warned the Todd clan..no jokes on arrival.
We revisited all the major sights again, including watch poor kelly, petrified of heights, have to do the bridge climb on Xmas Eve in absolute soaking wet rain-welcome to Australia! Of course we were in the pub overlooking the bridge-much drier. Xmas eve night spent in our other favorite backpacker haunt-Scruffy Murphy's. An hilarious drag queen karaoke session ended the day nicely. After worrying what the weather would be like Xmas day we were pleased to not have to work out a Plan B, and Plan A went ahead. BBQ breakfast at the hotel, followed by a trip to Manly Beach for a picnic Xmas dinner, some rays (followed by sunburn!) and a good swim. Then up to the O'Briens for a fantastic Aussie traditional BBQ tea complete with self peeling prawns. Perfect. The only thing missing was you lot!
Next day followed with a trip to see the Three Sisters at Katoomba-followed by a trip on the scenic railway to the national park and then off we went in search of kangaroos. These were to be found in Glenbrook National Park-it was fantastic to see Andy and Kelly's face as kangaroos are all too familiar to us now. Be warned this is a great camping spot so i hope you are prepared for a night roughing it Rachel. As the days pass so quickly we go to Taronga Zoo (our christmas present from the O'briens) well worth every penny, i fell in love with the mere cats and trying to get Nath away from the ever cheeky monkeys was near on impossible! To top this the elephants have seriously the best view of the city! Our final trip to Home and Away's location, Palm Beach. A little disappointing as no real tourist attraction....apparently all the main filming is done in a studio...but i did manage to get a photo of the surf club and stand on the stretch of beach where all the drama happens-wait till you see my photo shots lol.
The week ended with a farewell treat of a meal at China Town...superb. And the celebrations of NYE in Sydney. Lisa had done a fantastic job of booking a large group of us in at The Lowenbrau German Bar located in the rocks next to the Harbour Bridge. An amazing 3 course spread followed by traditional german dancing, bell chiming etc, Nath did the hat dance-don't worry i have it on video. All very merry the countdown to midnight approached and we headed out for a good view of the bridge. Not the best view to be found as the place was over populated by now...but 5,4,3,2,1 Happy New Year....we could see most of the fireworks and a glimpse of the bridge-20 minutes of colorful sky. We definitely weren't disappointed...NYE in Sydney with great friends. Lots of toasting of drinks and cheers to follow and then a very tired Andy and Kelly had to say farewell to us..not without being laden down with our collection of UK belongings, don't worry though guys you haven't seen the sack we have for the next arrivals. Happy New Year every one.
And here is where we head to NZ. We made it to bed at 5am NY Day...to rise at 8am to catch te train to Sydney airport. Very tired and a little hung-over i was pleased we'd packed a few days earlier. Upon arrival we were told we couldn't go to NZ as it was longer than a month...i must have given one of my famous 'do not mess with me' looks, as she disappeared and returned with an apology and boarding passes. A long day of waiting and flying to NZ via Brisbane with no food on the plane! We finally made it to NZ only to be interrogated by customs of the details of our visits and the mud on our walking boots...i was pleased we'd booked return flights as the 2 girls next to us weren't so lucky and looked set to be deported straight away. First eyes set on Pat, Alistair and Jed at 2am, needless to say we did the quickest tour of Wellington by night, arrived to champagne and christmas presents on our immaculate bed, but unfortunately it all had to wait till tomorrow-time for bed. Not rising again till 1pm the next day ready for the adventures ahead.
A very busy first few days, meeting the rest of the family who hadn't seen me since i was 8-fantastic to catch up with everyone, exchanging stories and generally feeling like i'd known you all forever. Lots of planning of where to go and what to see on both islands, followed by bookings of ferries and cars, it was time to see a little bit of Wellington. Its cold! Ok it wasn't as cold as England but very windy. Jed and Pat drove us round the all the bays of Wellington and up to the traditional view point. Wellington looks very beautiful from all directions, beaches followed by countryside on this day a very calm sea all around. The best thing about Wellington is how accessible it is from all directions, 10 mins to half an hour in any direction and you are away from the city to somewhere completely rural. One of these journeys included a walk up Whitereria Park hill, nothing but rugged cliffs and the south island whey in the distance.
With the roof box attached, pat and Ali's welcomed offer of warm clothes for the ever changing NZ weather (any warm clothing we have are back in the UK and it appears you are all needing them at the moment?) and a quick lesson on Maori language-'Wh' becomes "F" the soon to be mischievous threesome (me, Nath and Jed) are ready to hit the North island on a week long trip to Auckland. First stop, a view form the Rimatuka Hills-a vastness of green hills engulfed us to which at this point it is all just amazing. I must apologise now before i continue for any Kiwi's reading this, namely you Tony, i have tried my absolute best to write the names of places down as we pass them but often it is all memory, and one thing i have learnt about New Zealand is that the name places are very interesting.
We drove through Hastings having our first beer stop at the art deco town of Napier. A good choice of pub being Rosie o Grady's who let me sample every NZ beer on offer...concluding i like Macs, Export Gold, Speights,....the list goes on. The ocean here is a very strong turquoise colour which contrasts with the very pebbly beach as we soon learnt most NZ beaches are. Hurrah for water trainers and Kmart. Continuing along state highway2 we found a hidden waterfall gushing down the side of a mountain, excited we made it our first nights camp-Taupo.
Taupo is famous for Lake Taupo formed by a large volcanic explosion-it is seriously huge, so huge that it has its own tides! Nath delighted in being able to fulfill a childhood ambition of hitting golf balls into the water-of course he was hoping to win the jackpot by hitting the hole target. Somehow we'd managed to book in at a 5 star camp site so delighted in the use of heated showers, the jumping pillow (a very large trampoline) to which im not as supple as i was and nearly broke my back., and the hot pools. A trip to the supermarket brought us beer (Nath has made a personal vow to never shop at a Pak n Save again after being asked for ID and not accepting his british one-he was 27 in a few days-come on now?), cheese n biscuits and snacks for the night ahead and our new word of the trip-'Nustar' which Jed assures me is cheers in Cheq. The only problem we occurred on our stay was the cold nights, being surrounded by the snow capped Mount Ruapehu and Mount Tangario meant that once the sun disappeared we were set for jumpers and hats..and the possible interruption of Jed climbing into our tent..it didn't happen though. Nath unfortunately took a disliking to the Hu-Hu bugs-large moths with no wings that just loved to climb on Nath a few whacks with the heavy torch and things seemed to calm down. After the mishap of the stove failing to work for bacon breakfast we retreated to the camp kitchen over run with school children, made do and went in search of the days adventure. First stop the hidden valley. A sulphur active island complete with caves and mud pools (not the type you bathe in). Hooker falls followed, an amazing force of water that only the very experienced rafter would ever contemplate-you could hear te roar of the water before we even reached it. Jed then insisted he knew this great place a bit further up that you can swim in-having swam in all sorts of places by now i was keen to jump in this river, and very keen to get out asap after very ungracefully slipping into what felt like an ice cold plunge pool (for those of you that now the plunge pool at sheffield spa-we're talking as cold as this!). Nath being the cleverer of the two us had the camera ready-thanks Jed! The day finalised with my knees wobbling watching the bungee jumpers at AJ Hackets Bungee-i'll give Nath and Jed fair do's, they tried every tactic going to get me to jump but i was pretty certain the thought of a single cord tied to my legs was not enough to make want to plunge to the depths of the water below!
Moving on we made it to Rotorua. We found the friendliest camp site ever located on the estuary that runs to Lake Rotorua, with free canoe hire we passed a couple of hours paddling up the estuary followed by the tyre tree swing-not to my liking but the guys loved in..and enjoyed forcing me in the trout running water as i wouldn't swing with them. All was Ok though as we managed to relax in a romantic spa for 3 at $5 for half an hour each hand clasping at a bottle of Speights-lovely. We ended the night with a drink of hot mulled wine offered by Chris and kate in the next to ust to us. Earlier in the day we figured the best way to see the sights of Rotorua was on the Luge. A ride up in the gondola, met at the top with a helmet for the Luge. The best way i can describe a luge to you is kind of a one man bob sleigh, made of plastic with wheels and one lever which you , the one and only driver have to control as you start at the top of the hill and can only go straight down. Seriously great fun, with three tracks, scenic (got the photos we needed for the album), intermediate for a bit of speed, and advanced-enough to scare the crap out of anyone-well me anyway, it was a great afternoon. The only bad thing we found about Rotorua was the smell of rotten eggs (sulphur) that is constantly lingering-i guess that is why it is nicknamed 'Sulphur City'.
As we left Rotorua raining we headed to 'The Bay of Plenty', namely because it is generally a hotter climate-and it was, by the time we'd had our gourmet eggs benedict breakfast at the recommended 'Sunrise Cafe' the sun was in full beam. Jed insisted we did a small trek up Mount Maunganui. It didn't look small! By the time we reached the summit i could wring my T-shirt out and as it happened found a mini breeze so stood in just my bra cooling off next to one of my favorite trees the Punga tree. Once i'd caught my breath back i found Nath and Jed staring at an unforgettable view-miles of ocean surrounded by bays, sandy beaches, the busy towns, and countryside-sometimes a photo doesn't do a memory justice and this was one of those moments. We could just make out White Island-the only active volcano in NZ that you can view if you dare, it does still leak sulphur. Once we'd climbed down to the bottom which was decidedly easier we headed on to Paero to view the big L&P bottle-a famous NZ drink. It didint dispoint in size it was unbeliveably large-but unfortunately as Jed produced a can of the stuff each i decided it was time to leave paero. A bit like the marmite adverts-you either love it or hate it, and with mixed views in the car we discussed the taste for a fair few km's. Needing a break from the discussion we stopped at the Karangahake Gorge and spent a few minutes tring to cross the river with the stepping stones, besides the fact it was impossible without getting wet, the sandflies had set in for an early tea. Jumping back in the car we finaly made it thames- atown famous in its days for gold mining and still attracts a few travellers. But on this occassion the only reason we were in Thames was for a free bed and feed at Jed's dads place. What can we say here but thnakyou thankyou thankyou. Great food, good company and a view that showed the weather forecast quicker than the news could report it. We knew if there was going to be rain the next day or not!
And so it was that the next day we knew it was going to rain, but not in a mood to let it spoil our fun we set of on the winding roads to 'The Coromandel Peninsular'. Views of forests and mountains were soon interrupted by the bleak weather and before we knew it the poncho that you'd bought us Pat soon beacme our best friends. The most bizzare image was seeing people still swimming when the rain was howling down at horrendous speed and no-one apart from us three seemed to notice. In that case we ploughed on and managed to get a good feel of how fun the peninsular would be on a fair day. In short we drive to Pauanui, checking out all the house we will buy eventually hey Jed, next Tairua, which should be a good beach, on to the Hot Water Beach, our biggest disapointment on the NZ trip as we didnt get to dig our own hot pool. Apparently if you wait for the right tide and take a spade out you can dig a hole in the sand which will spurt hot water-youre own mini spa. Sod that though on this day-we made do with dry carft shop. Next we looked at Hahei and the Cathedral Cave, stopped at the touristy town of Whitianga (pronounced 'foot-e-anga') for a well earnt food stop. Ending the drive back through the Corumandel township, the winds howling now, Ngatea ('Na-tear') and 6 hours later arriving back at Thames.
A big shout out to you hear Jed for being our own personal tour guide, im not sure whether you made alot of the destils up but it sounded convincing enough to us...im sensing a career change coming on here? And of course Che and Grant, how can we forget to thank you-having Jeds beloved dog Tess who took to tearing up your garden in a fit of rage at being left behind we are ever greatful at helping you come to the decision now is not the time for a dog.
Feeling the need for exercise we agreed on a 2/3 hour tramp up to the trig at the Karangahake Gorge. We set off at 11.45am and made it back to the car at 6.25pm. I make that 6 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds later Jed-not 2/3 hours-i'm not bitter about this can you tell! Seriously though after walking off the pain (there was little else i could do, i didnt fancy being stranded with the sound of wild goat in the distance!) it really was a great NZ experience. At times we were climbing very close to the edge of this extra large hill (Jed will kill me if i call it a mountain), it had been raining so we were slipping over every other step, i had two hand made walking sticks to help me climb through bush and to make new tracks, cuts all over, approaching landslides that we had no choice but to cross, seeing streams and waterfalls coming from nowhere (beautiful) and all in all having an interesting time. Towards the end of the track we came across old mining caves, having packed the torches and boys being boys they had to investigate. At this point in time i had a call of nature and returned to the boys slyly telling me to look in the cave. Im not so naive to know they were up to something so after protesting and then deciding to loo, i focussed on it being a spider. 'Move the torch to the left....theres nothing there'...a bit lower....i cant see anything.....holy f***.....retreat reatreat'. A Cave Wetter! Now you'll have to do your research on this this as you need to see one to belive it ...but these things are huge, ugly and dangerous. I found a second wind here and made it back to the car in no time stopping only once to get a picture of the NZ symbol the silver fern. Surprisingly we didnt see one other person on this tramp! And to say we slept well is an understatement.
Not content on yesterdays tramp the boys convinced me to go back to the gorge to do a shorter walk called the 'Windows Walk'. Not convinced they wee telling the truth i put my flip flops on as i knew they knew i wouldnt walk to far in them-it wasnt too far. A walk where you can actually venture ito the old mining cave (minus cave wetters as they are too populated with visitors), being unguided ment we could do it on our own time and enjoy the scenery and few glow worms that were there. A few hours later we were heading for Jeds gaff at Mission Baech which over looks the Rangitio Volcano, Auckland. Unfortunately no champaigne on arrival, instead it was the hoover and a spring clean. Jed-you'd better keep the new place up to scratch after we just got this one looking like an excellent gaff! The only thing that could possibly follow this trip was a very nice italian meal and few more than intended drinks at the local irish bar 'O'Donahughes'.
A few surprising things happened while we stayed at Mission Bay, i learnt how chilled i have become about spiders. Jed has a pet spider that sits in his kitchen window that he feeds flys! I not only tried to catch the flys and feed the spider which we named 'Charlotte' for obvious reasons, but i washed up in absolute calm persona-amazing? Maybe the CD you sent me did work after all nicola? The second being that we managed to have a very superbly cooked and entertainling evening 3 streets away from Jeds at what turned out to be Naths uncles partners neices house. A big thanks to Dave and Ann for a lovely evening, great advice and we wish you all the best in NZ.
Besdies this we spent our days work shadowing Jed, plenty of souvineer shopping to include the victoria markets, the tourist look out points such as Mount Eden and One Tree Hill, a cinema experience of bonds new film Casino Royale-better than expected, more late night dancing and drinking, brunch at Titiarangi, views from the Waitaeke ranges and a trip to Piha beach. The sand here is black and the waters warm with a strong undercurrent making it one of NZ's dangerous beaches. Still we had a good afternoon, and Jed did once he reached the sea to cool off after not taking his 'jandals' as they call them in NZ. Our time in Auckland had come to an end, it was time for Jed ot go back to work and for Nath and myself to explore the North of the North island.
15th January 2007, naths 27th birthday, the car laoded and seat adjusted of we go.We travelled up the west coast stopping to view the Waipoura 'Kauri' Rainforest. The Kauri is the largest tree in NZ and it is pretty large. In general our trip was surrounded by rainforest and various colours of green, we were strating to feel engulfed by the surroundings and wondered if we'd ever see daylight again...just at the point we were about to turn green ourselves the road lit up and standing in front of us was the largest sand dune we've ever seen. We were at Opononi. And with a camp site located bang opposite the sanddune we decided this was to be our first camp. A perfectly good spot allowed us to see the sand dune reflecting on the Hokianga Harbour surrounding it. After a disapointing birthday meal (the only restauarant in the town happened to be the posh type that say fish of the day with vegetables and ome served on a large plate with a very small portion in the middle-neatly presented though!) Hungry we found solice in the bar, and strolled along the beach to watch the most amazing sunset of all colours set before us. Naths quietest birthday yet but the present is yet to come on the South Island'.
Having drive the previous day to Rawene and thinking it looks like a hell hole, we decided to bypass the fery and enjoy the drive to Kaitaia, stopping for breakfast at Okaihau, we've really grown to love these small country towns in Australia and NZ is proving much the same-friendly people and good service-we somehow managed to leave with a bag full of fresh orages absolutely free. Kaitaia was bustling with toursits and the kind of town that is always overly keen to take advatage of the tourist so we moved on heading down the main road that runs parallel to the famous 90 mile beach. Totally intrigued we pulled off and headed down a very pebbly dirt track eventually meeting georgous sands that stretch for miles. Getting out and taking a short walk it was easy to imagine being lost and totally on oyur own, it was at this point that a standard ford falcon much alike our Stanley ripped past us at almighty speeds, probably so they didnt sink, and we just knew we had to do it. Discarding all the warnings about not taking non 4 wheeldrive cars on the sand, we seatbelted up and took the quickest ever 3 minute trip on the beach. Sorry Jed. We definately have to get a 4x4 and do this strecth again.
Making good time we headed for the final strect to Cape Reinga, this was to be found at the end of 116km dirt track and is the most northernest point of NZ. The Maori;s believe that when they die this is where there spirits depart the earth. A fact that we could see was that this is the point where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet with large crashing waves. Once i'd got over the fact that the two sees weren't different colours it really was quite enlightening. We'd been told that in bad weathers the swells can reach as high as 10 meters-now that i would like to see as there are no rocks for them to crash against? As we left Cape Reinga we couldn't not stop at the large sand dunes we could see in the distance. As we got closer the sand dunes started taking over the view point and before we knew it we were surrounded by them. rather bizarrely there was one small van at the foot of these hiring out boogie boards and teaching you the basics of sand surfing-of course we had a go. Completely mad, absolutely tiring trying to climb up some of the dunes, one i couldn't even get half way up and was glad i didn't after seeing Nath's face on the way down-he looked pretty worried he might break an arm. We have it on video. Cleaning off in a nearby watering hole we headed to our camp of the night at the Houhara Harbour at the Pukenui Holiday Park. Tired and missing Stanley, your car is just not made for 2 people Jed, the tent is going to have to come out, and besides this the sand flies and mozzies in NZ are real biters-its like attack of the sand fly everyday so we are going to have to invest in a better aero guard!
Bitten to high heaven we awoke the next morning and set of down the east coast stopping at the place that makes things out of the famous kauri tree, 10 minutes later we were leaving, i really fancied the chair at $35,000 but unfortunately couldn't even afford (well agree to) the picture frame at $45. We drove past Doubtless Bay, famous for the first landfall for the legendary Polynesian explorer Kupe, but what we noticed most was the pristine waters. We passed through Mangonui to keri Keri where we stopped for a cup of coffee (hot chocolate for Nath's sweet tooth) overlooking the steamboats on the banks of the Keri Keri River. We viewed the oldest standing building in NZ, Mission House, built 1822. Not quite having had enough of NZ history we headed to Waitangi and viewed the famous treaty house built in 1832 which was where the signing of the treaty between the Maori Chiefs and the British Crown took place. Although we didn't go inside, the natural landscape and the grounds outside were sufficient to make us understand how important this history is to NZ. A must do for when we return. We stayed at Harura Falls Caravan Park, only 5 minutes from Paihia. Harura Falls being quite small in comparison to the waterfalls we've seen but nevertheless calm to watch and a nice area. Deciding that the car just wasn't big enough for the two of us we finally got our lazy arms to pitch the tent...a much better idea and a much better nights sleep. back on backpacker food we made the mistake of buying a cooked chicken, paying for it and then leaving it at the counter. slightly embarrassed but prepared to deal with this for the sake of some tea Nath sat with the car ticking over while i collected the forgotten chicken-phew.
The area we finalised our North of the North Island trip in is known as the 'Bay of Islands', the original landing site for European settlers in the early 1800s. Paihia is a very touristy town but with welcoming and accommodating approach that makes you feel settled instantly. This particular town is known as the 'jewel' of the bay due to the fact the first mission station in 1823 and NZ's first church was built here. Enjoying learning about the history but lacking the excitement that follows this we decided to book on the 'Mack attack' speed boat around the bays and through the hole in the rock. Typically it was raining when it was our turn so we were kitted out in all the appropriate wet gear, i was glad i took the rather un-flashy sunglasses as the spray we were getting from the swells was quite sharp. There are 144 islands to explore in total but we only did a few, passing dozens of caves and interesting rock formations. Out of all the bays only 2 are privately owned, the rest are run by the department of conservation making it very green to look at. By now the water is getting pretty rough and im convinced as we pass Russell island (saved us the ferry trip over) that we wont be going through the hole in the rock. As the young girl screams at the front that 'i'm scared mummy' im thinking pretty much the same. talk about white knuckles! Thankfully we made it through the other side only to see another boat turn away not even attempting it! On the way back we passed cape Brett, an excellent 2 day tramp was pointed out but still recovering from Jed's 6hr 45min 27sec walk i was not even in the mood for contemplating it...i am now though, what do you think Jed?
Heading back to Auckland to collect Jed from work for the next leg back to Wellington we stop at probably the most bizarre tourist attraction, the Hundertwasser Toilets. Yes these are toilets, and yes we only stopped as Nath did need to use them. I on the other hand figured i best see what all the fuss is about and ended up in a queue for the toilet myself so thought i'd be polite and go. What is all the fuss about you ask, well it made the headlines after the above named guy sculptured lots glass into the large columns making it very interesting to look at-so the news report says?? All three of us packed and arriving at Thames just in time for Corned Beef and sweet potatoes. Corned Beef you say, well this corned beef we can't get in the Uk and its like carved meat that you'd have on a sunday, very tasty and i shall miss it very much. the night was spent practicing shooting skills and viewing the comet in the sky. We felt pretty lucky to see the comet as it only comes around every 400,000 years, and in NZ the stars are much brighter than the Uk, you almost feel like you can reach up and grab them they are that close, so the comet was pretty spectacular. Next morning we made a stop at Tauranga for BBQ brunch to see Shelly and Warwick's new boat-great BBQ and good looking tin boat-have you managed to catch any whoppers yet? I totally felt for you Shelly trying to impress the new in-laws and we all just rock up on the doorstep -i think we behaved though?
The drive along the Desert road was much alike its name sounds-long, hot and extremely tiring, the boys taking it in turns to drive and amuse me, i don't know how many games of cards, eye spy, name this, name that games we played, but it hit rock bottom when we started checking out what was on Jed's laptop!! We managed to collect Tess at 9pm, and arrive back to your house, Pat and Ali at 10.30pm-boy were we tired, but the hot belated birthday cake for Nath sure made up for it. Although we haven't even touched the West coast of the North Island i have no doubts we will return and visit the things we missed and revisit old favorites. One of these being you Jed, you made our trip pretty enjoyable and humorous at the best of times-although you can talk i'll give you that, didn't think anyone could talk as much as me but you certainly put me to the test. I know we'll all keep in contact and we'll see you in March in Sydney so we can show you a little of Australia.
Sunday morning up bright up and early as Nath decided we must go to the Wiarapa air show. Luckily you convinced me Pat with a promise of a great picnic and sun, you weren't wrong-we certainly all burnt and needing a trolley to pull the picnic things only shows how well prepared you were. But besides all my inhibitions i had a great day and Nath certainly did. the day was topped with a present of a ride in a helicopter-first time for Nath so front seat action, but great views and a real eye opener to doing it again.The day ended quite sourly as an accident had happened on the only real road into Wellington meaning we were pretty much trapped till midnight on the opposite side of the hill...but we survived and finally made it home at 1am. unfortunately it was a quick good bye for you Jed, thanks again for adding a new play list on the ipod-lots of mew music will keep us going for our final leg in Australia. And i haven't forgotten i owe you a pair of binoculars...just waiting to get a job.
Monday morning as im sure you've all guessed was very lazy. We did pack our bag ready for the trip over to the South Island and gather all bits n bobs that we may need, you know essentials like jumpers, raincoats, saucepan, cups, plates, ipod speakers-all handy! Everyday things like fixing cupboards together and making smoothies helped the day pas with ease, and then late afternoon we walked along the waterways harbour, had a mini visit to the Te Papa Museum, another must to revisit, a visit to your favorite pub dad-'Macs Brewery', i discovered i now like Macs dark ale while Nath was a keen drinker of your fave ginger beer. Tea out at Patone followed by ice-cream and coffee at the cinema. This cinema was fantastic each person had a settee and a cushion-it was like being at home but being at the cinema-much better choice of film this time-sorry boys-Dream Girls. Another late night followed by an early morning. A quick thanks here to you Pat and Ali for making us feel so welcome and helping us out in every which way. We would have enjoyed NZ either way i'm sure, but having you be there for us made it all the more special. Tomorrow we go to the South Island. But i shall have to stop typing here as if not this will end up being the longest journal entry yet-it still could be now. So for now we shall leave you to contemplate the North Island of New Zealand. The busy cities of Wellington and Auckland contrasted with the beauty and the rugged surrounding areas- a must see for every one once. We hope you are all well.
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