Matakana House Motel

... an impressive effort to trap out non-native rodents and predators to protect native birdlife within the enclosures. We weren't lucky enough to see the kiwi birds (think they're nocturnal), but we caught a glimpse of a yellow head.

On our return to Anchor Bay, we had fun exploring the caves and tidepools along the beach, and even met some Department of Conservation folks who told us a few things about the area. On our way out we saw a white-faced heron ...

... Pony, Lego etc etc while I got to work on decorating the cake!

As some of you know, I have really struggled with converting my super quick cake recipe over to baking with butter! Lucy's cake was to fall victim to the same problem (although I can tell you that I have now sorted the matter and just replace some of the butter with milk!) There was a wopping big hole in the middle of her cake, it rose and then it fell........big time ...

... irgendwie erklaerte es sich dann von selber...Gerade rechtzeitig zur Dunkelheit waren wir fertig.
Als wir nach dem Kochen schlafen gehen wollten, war unser Zelt von 1000en von Schnecken umringt und die Schleimspuren auf unserem Zelt deuteten daraufhin, dass nicht wenige mal versuchten den Gipfel zu erkunden...

In der Nacht fing es dann wieder richtig an zu regnen und hoerte bis zum Sonnenaufgang auch nicht auf. Unser Zelt wurde also gleich in der ersten Nacht auf eine ...

... but the sea was too cold and surfy. so just lots of looking and photo taking. After that we drove back down to Puhoi for a trip to an excellent Kiwi biker pub with signs such as "if our food doesn't meet your standards, please lower your standards" and others. Back to Simon & Debs house (which is really luxurious) for a 'games convention' playing St Petersburg strategy board game and eating fahitas with Kiwi Josh their friend. All in all a great break from being ...

... short n' sweet tunnels along the way. A beautiful coastal road all the way to Kaikoura just soliciting itself like a cheap ***** for photographic opportunities galore. Oh- and the seals, frolicking in the water with their flippers in the air and closer in, pup seals playing in the shallow waters among the rocks. Cute as hell but not as cute as me when i was their age. 04-12-08 107 Kms to Seddon. All too easy today, or so it started out. Getting away at 7:30, i felt like i was ...

... fancy at the time but don't worry they'll be round again if you feel up to it later. You also get a little egg timer style block, red on one side and green on the other. If you do not wish to be offered anything turn it to red. Feeling peckish again flip it to green and be inundated with delicious offerings. A wonderful experience. A note to virgin dinners, wear stretchy pants and if you are on a diet hard luck. That diet is going to, not only get thrown ...

... had a nice time just wandering around and taking pictures of the pretty surroundings. It was surprisingly quiet and calm there considering the weather we had that day. The rock formations that we climbed and hopped across are dotted by big and small pools of water. Some are quite deep and they almost look inviting enough to climb in to. We are not sure if they filled because of big waves crashing over them or if they are submerged during high tide, but they are ...

... is just about up. We have approximately 24 hours before we need to leave the country. It's been a great trip. We've managed to juggle relaxation with a number of activities and we thank everyone that helped make it all possible and a little easier. Highlights would be the jet boat trip, the beach at Puheke, some of the spectacular scenery, seeing a kiwi in the wild and....errm... oh yeah, getting married! Seems like ages ago now :-) See you all soon!

... After seeing the major sites and noon was just passed, we decided to return to the ship. This was easy as the one of the bus stops was at the Ferry Building which was right by our ship. Joining the White Lady in port was the Queen Victoria. But Auckland, being a city of 1.5 Million People, did not seemed overrun or bothered by the two ships being in harbor at the same time. We returned to the ship for a nice lunch and a bit of rest; before heading back out into the ...

... stung. Once back in Auckland we went to Viaduct Harbour's Waterfront Restaurant and had dinner the food was quite nice and the place was lovely. Rangitoto Island has no shops or bins so you need to take food, water, sunscreen and a hat with you. Anything you take with you to the island must also leave the island with you. There is more of Rangitoto to see and you can go across to Motutapu Island from Rangitoto but we didn't have time to see it all.