Auckland Anniversary Day

Today we went to North Head to watch some of Auckland's Anniversary Day celebrations in Waitemata Harbour. There were lots of people on top of the hill making the most of a great vantage point.





One of the NZ Navy's 2 frigates (that's all they have...) was the flagship for the day - HMNZS Te Kaha.




One of the first events of the day was a vintage tugboat race with some of the tugboats dating from the late 19th century. The race started and finished at North Head.

Fishy Goings On...

We had a trip to the city yesterday, did some shopping and had a nice lunch out. We then went to the fish market on the way home. There were lots of different types of fish, and some that looked very strange. We bought some tuna & salmon sashimi (raw fish), a dozen oysters and a snapper, this cost approx £11!!!

We even saw some people waiting to have their sea urchins prepared, cleaned or whatever it is you do with a sea urchin...

We had the sashimi and oysters to start (obviously with a bottle of the fizzy stuff) and then barbecued the snapper in true kiwi style...

Camping at Baylys Beach

Baylys Beach is part of the 100km long Ripiro Beach which is longer than the famous Ninety Mile Beach (which isn't 90 miles long!). Baylys Beach is a tiny village with a campsite, cafe and a small shop. This is a view down to the access point to Baylys Beach.



The beach is classed as a public highway and normal road rules apply. It is very strange seeing cars, motorbikes and quad bikes driving down the beach. It does mean it's not the safest beach to lie down on! This is the police patrol going down the beach.




You see for miles in both directions and cannot see the end of the beach, nor can you see anything out to sea - no islands and there weren't any boats out. It is very popular with surfers though as there are good waves all along the west coast of NZ.



The Funky Fish cafe is a great spot for something to eat or drink - a very popular hangout for both locals and tourists. They do great fish (John Dory) and chips.




The campsite was quite small but in a nice setting. We made good use of our BBQ, both for evening meal and cooking breakfast in the morning.

Kauri Museum

This weekend we headed north camping and stopped off at the Kauri Museum in Matakohe. The kauri tree is native to NZ and grows to a massive size. This photo shows an average sized 900 year old tree.




The museum shows how kauri trees used to be felled and processed and how techniques have changed over the years. This photo shows pieces of wood taken from one tree. In the background you can see rings on the wall showing the girth of the biggest kauri trees recorded. Tane Mahuta is the centre ring and is the oldest living tree.



Gum from the trees is the colour of amber and is very sought after for carvings and ornaments. The museum has a room with the largest collection of kauri gum in the world. Some of the pieces of gum have insects trapped inside them.

Some Old Posts

We have finally got round to doing some older posts so that you can see what we got up to last year. Just click on the 2006 on the right hand side and you will see them there.

So This Is Summer???

Just to prove it's not all beaches and sunshine... The weather is rubbish, cold and rainy, probably just like the UK. This is the view from the end of our drive up the hill , well what you can see of it.

Wenderholm Regional Park, 7 January 2007

Today we have been to visit Wenderholm Regional Park, the most spectacular of Auckland's regional parks. First stop off was the beach and views over Hauraki Gulf.




We then set off on a 3km walk through the park, a little strenuous at times, but we were rewarded with the most stunning views.



View to Puhoi estuary, where the Puhoi River meets the Hauraki Gulf








View down Puhoi River

Takapuna Beach, 2 January 2007

The yachting 420 class World Championships are currently being held off Takapuna beach, a bit too far out to photo when sailing, but here they are setting up.

New Year's Day

Today was spent visiting a few beaches - firstly a trip to Red Beach







Followed by a trip to Army Bay for a picnic at lunchtime.

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was spent wining and dining with the Gymers. Good to be one of the first time zones to see in 2007.