Best Western Gateway North Motor Lodge North Island

... pukeko and a stilt (forgot which species).

After our few hours jaunt in Tawharanui, we drove to Parry's forest and museum, to view the largest native trees found on the island: the Kauri. The one in the photos is ~800 years old. You'll see just how massive it is. There are older individuals elsewhere, but not many. Most of the forest was logged to near extinction. Much of it was used to rebuild San Francisco after the big fire near the turn of the last ...

... for her and Dan to shoot through. The kids had pizza and the adults Thai curry then the dreaded cake! It looked good but was rather heavy to taste! I have to say, it has actually improved as the days have passed, or we have got used to it! But as I said before Lucy was happy so we were too :-)

Lucy's big treat came on Saturday when we headed north up to Pakiri Beach for some horse riding on the beach. It was a couple of hours from our ...

... wir uns die Bucht unten am Strand mal an - es war kalt und nass. Ein Paar fuetterte Fische (was nicht erlaubt war, wie sich hinterher rausstellte) und dadurch kamen 50cm lange Snapper direkt an die Kueste.
Schon sahen wir uns da unten schnorcheln und die Gegend mal von unter Wasser erkunden.

Gesagt getan schluepften wir in die - hier ultraschicken - Neoprenanzuege und stapften ins Wasser. Es war dann doch nicht so warm wie erhofft - trotz Neopren.
Die Fische waren ...

... br>Hope everyone is well. Love the photos of the Walshs' at Disney, Paris. Must also say congrats to the Walsh brothers for their huge effort in swimming the length of the Thames. Well done on a great fund-raising effort (crazy challenge)... I hope you both have a good rest now & can enjoy some decent grub. Justgiving link attached for anyone interested.

http://www.justgivin g.com/RiverThamesChallenge2009/

Miss you all.

Leszek & ...

... in the saddle (it don't get dark here until about 9) but the pain i was in soon told me to cut the hard line attitude right out. I sat in the spa pool for a good hour sipping a bundy, chatting to Jackson hoping it would be therapeutic enough to allow me a painless nights sleep and fresh legs again tomorrow morning. We'll see... 03-12-08 73 Kms to Kaikoura. Cocka-doodle-fackin-doo! It was to be expected as there were plenty of chickens and roosters roaming around the campsite, just ...

... We all then did a speedy tour of Auckland taking in One Tree Hill (now no tree hill) and Mount Eden. I did a quick jog around the crater that only served to demonstrate how unfit I must be. Cafe break and then went to the shops (It was Luba's birthday afterall!). That evening Jenny kindly treated the family to a dinner in Warkworth. Multiple birthday celebrations ensued. March is a busy month.

... sehen aber was wir nicht wussten, man wird dabei ganz schoen nass. Gegen viertel nach drei verliessen wir die Hoehlen und hatten einen Kaffee in Wellsford um unser naechsten Ziel zu besprechen. Wir beschlossen, in Leigh zu uebernachten und gelangen dort um 18.30h. Leigh ist ein kleines Dorf am Meeresufer und so parkierten wir am Wasser, waren aber vorher noch was essen im Portside caffe mit 2 Glaeser Wein, so dass wir spaeter toll einschlafen konnten...

We'd set out alarm for 8:30, slept through to 9:30 thanks to our sleepless night, but still managed to be ready to leave around 10 after our first showers in 3 days. The weather was lovely down at the marina - clear skies and bright sunshine - as we loaded up the Mitchells' 30(?) foot yacht and headed out into Auckland Harbour. The boat was amazing - pretty much brand new and very luxurious inside with 3 double bedrooms, two bathrooms and a lounge/kitchen for only four of us. We ...

We drove to tawharanui through the pouring rain to a little secluded campsite in a national park. We telephoned the ranger and he told us to park up in the car park and we tried to hide from the wind behind a bush in a beautiful bay. We posted $20 through his letterbox for staying the night and spent our first night without electricity, candles all around the van ...

... naar de pub gegaan (zondag is echt de dag om al die motoren te zien) en hebben een paar biertjes gedronken. Ook heb ik 3-1 van hem gewonnen met pool! Haha! En dus erg veel (mooie! grote!) motoren en een opgevoerde tractor... Deze tractor is de snelste van Nieuw Zeeland (ze doen er wedstrijdjes mee) en maakt met enorm veel kabaal "donuts" op de weg; erg grappig.

Op maandag ben ik verder gegaan met het gronden van de deuren en 's avonds zijn we ...