Fort Takapuna - Passchendaele Exhibition

This afternoon we went to Fort Takapuna to see the Passchendaele exhibition. The fort was built in the late 1800s when they thought Russian warships were planning on attacking NZ.




The battle of Passchendaele in Belgium was the mostly costly for the NZ battalion in WWI with the loss of many lives. The exhibition inside the fort tells the history of the battle. They have made 5000 crosses in memory of those lost.




Many of the crosses have been written on in memory of family members.

Matakana & Ti Point

This morning we headed up to Matakana for the Morris & James pottery sale as we were after some new art work for the house. We ended up with a few pieces which are now on various walls.








Whilst in the area we drove to Ti Point to check it out as a supposedly good fishing spot. Views from Ti Point back to Omaha beach.




We walked along the Ti Point walkway which has several small secluded beaches along the way.






On the way back we stopped of at a shack selling fresh Matakana Coast oysters - a bargain $5 for a dozen. The only downside was that they were still in their shells so Royston became a master oyster shucker when we got home. To be washed down later with a bottle of fizz.

Finally Filling the Wine Barrels

This morning we finally got round to planting out the remaining wine barrels.






We are particularly pleased with this one and the mix of unusual plants.










The bird of paradise we planted a month or so ago has also finally flowered.

Charlie's New Friend

Charlie has a new friend who looks rather similar to him, not sure of his name as yet. Although very cute together, we don't appreciate their play time at 4am hurtling through the house...

Walks at Mercer Bay and Upper Nihotupu Dam

Today we made the most of the beautiful spring weather and headed west to the Waitakeres for a couple of walks. The first was the Mercer Bay loop walk, a coastal walk which gave great views looking north down over Piha and to Muriwai in the distance.




Whilst the views to the south were to Whatipu, the most southerly point of the Waitakeres.




As we climbed back up the track we could see Mercer Bay which is not accessible by road or foot unless you fancy a scramble down a very steep bank.





The walk took us through lots of natural bush including many tree ferns and flax. A great loop walk with stunning views.






The next walk of the day was completely different scenery as we headed through bush to walk alongside the Upper Nihotupu Reservoir past several waterfalls on the way.





We eventually reached the dam and views over the Waikatere Ranges - lots of ferns!






We then headed back the way we came stopping off at another waterfall. A great day of walking out west.

Tour of Ports of Auckland & Diwali Festival

Today we headed over to the city for the annual Diwali festival. Whilst wandering around we stumbled upon the open day for Ports of Auckland and a free bus tour around the normally out of bounds port. It was an interesting tour and good to see a working port in action. They also showed us Queens Wharf, the area that has just been sold back to the council and is to become "Party Central" for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. As a secure area we could not take photos so a library photo from the internet.


Diwali was once again a great festival and after listening to John Key give the opening speech, we indulged in some yummy Indian food.