Auckland Domain

Today we headed over to the Domain for Joan and Steve to meet some other friends, so we took the opportunity to explore somewhere new. The Wintergardens offered a diverse range of plants.




One of the glasshouses was tropical with an impressive lily pond as the central piece.






The second glasshouse is more temperate with amazing floral fragrances.





We then had a wander around the rest of the Domain and came across this Valkyrie statue which had been donated to the park by a R S Hellaby in 1929, who we have subsequently discovered to be a famous NZ born artist.

Out West with the Pilkingtons

This weekend we had Joan & Steve visiting as part of their amazing Australia and NZ trip. Today we headed out west on a well trusted route through the Waitakere Ranges with several stops on the way. This included part of the Mercer Bay walk we had done last month to get the great coastal views.



We then headed down to Piha, a bit too cold still to go in the sea, but it didn't seem to bother the surfers.






Then onto the gannet colony at Murawai Regional Park. The final stops of the day were a couple of wineries for a spot of wine tasting (and buying!).

Garfield

A picture says a thousand words...