Takapuna Bathtub Derby

Today we headed down to Takapuna beach to watch the Bathtub Derby. All crafts have to use a specific bath as part of the design, but can chose a variety of ways in which to power them.





There were a wide range of designs, some looking a little more substantial than others - this Russian craft didn't look like it would be going very far!





The very high winds however meant that the race had to be moved on to a more sheltered bay, but we decided not to follow them so didn't actually get to see the race. We were impressed though by the renowned Kiwi ingenuity in building these crafts.

Fishing Charter on the Kaipara Harbour

As today is Labour Day and a day off work, I headed off on a fishing charter with Paul and several others on the Kaipara Harbour, to the north west of Auckland.





After a few days of dubious weather, we were fortunate today - a warm and sunny day. It was still quite choppy though in parts. Unfortunately the big fish weren't biting, but still managed to reel in several fish.




This is my final haul of 8 snapper, 4 trevally, 1 gurnard, 1 small cod and 2 kahawai. The kahawai were biting well, so quite a few were put back, only the 2 big ones kept for smoking.





Our dinner consisted of sashimi trevally fillets followed by lemon pepper coated cod fillets with home made chips - the cod was probably the nicest fish we have ever had. As you can see I am quite tired after my hard day at sea.

Taupo - Anna & Tim's

This weekend we headed back down to Taupo to see Anna and Tim, to celebrate her 30th birthday and my birthday next week. Many developments since we last visited, the house is pretty much finished inside now, just the outside decking area to complete. The main additions have been to their animal family. "Compost" the pig being one of them - he is a cross between a wild boar and a farmed pig hence his face shape and ridge of fur along his back. He will be in the freezer early next year :o)


Two other additions are CJ and Jeff the goats. This is going to be one line of farming they pursue in the future and these are the first male goats they will use for breeding.





Finally they have four sheep and four lambs, some of which will be kept (the sheep for another lambing season), some sold and some in the freezer with Compost!





Their pine forest suffered badly in the winter storms and have had to result in having the majority of the trees ripped out and logged ready for sale - a large bulk of the wood is to be shipped to Korea. It has made a mess of one area of the paddock, but once finally cleared will be replanted with trees and prepared for the goat farm.



The day was rounded off with our birthday cake, beautifully made by Anna.

Tauranga

To help celebrate Royston's birthday we treated ourselves to a night at a top hotel in Tauranga. On route we stopped off to see the view back down the valley over to Matamata (otherwise known as Hobbiton as a large part of Lord of the Rings was filmed in this area).





The weather was stunning, so we spent some time walking around the waterfront area - largely dominated by restaurants and bars.




The hotel was certainly a treat after most of our nights away here being in a tent. This is Royston's arty shot from our balcony over to Mount Maunganui. The evening was topped off with a lovely meal at one of the waterfront restaurants.

BBQs At Last!!

The weather is now warm enough to crank up the barbie, so tonight was the first of the season. We made the most of the new season asparagus as well.

Sunset at Ninety Mile Beach

We were fortunate to catch a stunning sunset on Saturday night which wass the end to a great day, I'll leave the photos to tell the story...

Ahipara

This weekend we were invited up to Ahipara by Alistair & Darryl to stay at Alistair's parents bach in Ahipara, about 4 and 1/2 hours north of Auckland and at the start of Ninety Mile Beach.





Saturday morning was mostly spent on Ninety Mile beach with Royston fishing for several hours and catching five fish, all of which were put back on this occasion.





We were very fortunate with the weather, a nice morning turning into a beautiful sunny afternoon, befitting of the name the "Winterless North".





The beach was a scene of activity with plenty of quad bike tours and cars driving up and down.