Charlie

Some photos of Charlie posing for my new camera.

And pretending he's a lion...

Waiheke Island

Today we took a day trip to Waiheke Island, taking the car over on the ferry.  The trip over was rainy so we thought we would be in for a wet day, however by the time we got there the rain and cleared and the sun was out so we headed to the first beach of the day - Onetangi Bay.

We then headed west along the northern coast road, getting some stunning views down the valley towards Palm Beach.

Eventually ending up at Palm Beach, a small quiet beach with some stunning houses lining the beach front.

Next stop was Little Oneroa Beach where we found this lovely painted boat shed.

Then onto the wineries, one of the main reason to visit Waiheke.  First stop was Cable Bay for tastings, and admiring the view from the tasting room back over to Auckland city.

Then onto Mudbrick, a beautiful building for the restaurant and tasting room.

We had lunch here, the most delicious meal with stunning views out over the harbour.  This was my main dish of lamb cutlets, beautifully presented.

The final winery of the day was Te Whau, a stunning winery set on top of a hillside with views down to Putiki Bay.  We purchased a lovely bottle of red to have at Christmas.

The ferry back to Auckland gave great views of the city...

...and the Harbour Bridge.  A great day out and we plan to take the car back over again soon to explore the eastern and quieter side of the island.

A 40th & A RWC Final Party

My 40th happened to coincide with the RWC Final so we had a small gathering to celebrate my birthday and cheer on the All Blacks to victory.  We decorated the house, themed black of course.

And a small reference to my age thanks to Mum & Dad who sent me the banner.

My friend Jo was commissioned to make the cake - I asked for a rugby theme and I think she did a fantastic job.

An incredibly tense game, the Kiwis in the room were very quiet throughout, but finally the ABs did it and won the World Cup 8-7 against France.

We then got into cutting the cake...

And celebrated into the small hours.

Taste of New Zealand

This year the Taste food festival incorporated restaurants from around NZ rather than just Auckland, so we got the opportunity to try some yummy food from places we wouldn't normally eat.  This is a Southland rabbit terrine with Riesling jelly.

That dish, along with this, the West Coast whitebait Thai infused fritter, came from True South, a Queenstown restaurant.

Whilst our favourite dish of the day came from new Auckland restaurant Cocoro, chargrilled Angus eye fillet served with teriyaki sauce and carrot puree.

This year there were a couple of international celebrity chefs, including Rick Stein who was attracting big crowds at his Malaysian kitchen tent.

Queens Wharf RWC Fan Zone

Today we headed into town to finally get onto Queens Wharf to see the Cloud and RWC Fan Zone.  The giant rugby ball has toured the world over the past few years as a tourism promotion for NZ.  We chose not to queue to go in here as very busy.

The Cloud was built especially for the World Cup and is quite an impressive structure.  Not sure if this is going to stay after the tournament.

Inside the Cloud are signed shirts from the small rugby clubs all around the country and also innovations from NZ.

Also on the Wharf is a stage for local bands to entertain the crowds - no-one playing when we were there.

Whilst the old shed that used to hold imported bananas has been converted to a huge bar area.

Just down from Queens Wharf is the temporary Maori village and the controversial $2m plastic waka.

England v Scotland, RWC 2011

Due to some scumbag breaking in and stealing our stuff, we didn't have a camera for this game so found a photo on the web.  Cracking atmosphere at Eden Park for this one, though we were surrounded by a load of Scots so not so much fun!  A very tight game, with England winning in the final minutes.