PIHA

Out West are the beaches where 'The Piano' and 'King Kong' were filmed. We lived out here in our first year and discovered some fabulous coastline! Piha is a surfers' paradise and has one of the most dangerous "rip tides" in New Zealand.

They even have a television programme here; 'Piha Rescue' and stage world class surfing competitions. Lion Rock is in the picture, quite a steep climb!

Lifeguards are very much in evidence and the waves are HUGE! The girls like to body board here and we walk to starfish bay, where they are purple and orange with twelve arms, clinging to the rocks when the tide goes out.

If you want foaming waves and miles of wild, rugged coastline and black sand - this is the place. One of my favourite haunts! I'm saving up to buy a bach there one day. Dream on!

FISHING !

Greg is very into his fishing, both off the boat and off the kayak. Caught the snapper in the picture & it was delicious! We both have fishing rods now and even fluorescent bait..

The next photo is of me holding the walu caught in Fiji ! We had marlin jumping out of the water at the bow of the boat.. And then the girls with the kingfish!

The waters are teeming and kite fishing is popular. We've even seen jetski boat fishing, and when shopping, if you buy lemon fish in the market, it means it's shark. The kiwis think that fish and chips is their national dish - the girls had a kiwiana list to do with food & fish & chips was on it!

ARATAKI !

Arataki is a centre in the Waitakeres with walks & waterfalls and miles of rainforest with giant ferns - like in dinosaur times!. It has spectacular carvings created by local Iwi (tribe). This is the girls next to an 11m high Pou (guardian post) at the entrance. The carvings represent ancestors of Te Kawerau a Maki and it is one of the largest pou of its kind in New Zealand.

Generally you wll find smaller ones on sacred sites and Maori lands, guarding the entrances, and on marae.

For those of you with raised eyebrows at the anatomical details, yes it is!

KIWI !!

Of course, no blog on NZ would be complete without one on the kiwi - is that the person, the fruit or the bird? We get confused!

We've seen lots of kiwis here,of all kinds, but the feathered kind always in zoos or reserves; there's still a battle on to kill the introduced predators that kill them & eat their eggs.

They are of course, flightless, about the size of a chicken and the country's national symbol ( along with the fern). There are five different kinds and they are all nocturnal.. now you've learned something!

We love them because they make the tiniest cheeping noise, run really fast and their feathers are the softest things!

POSTBOXES!

Here in NZ postboxes are a way of expressing your personality! No rectangular slots in your front door, everyone has a postbox at the end of their drive - saves the postie time & effort! Anyway, there are some bizarre, some unusual, some beautiful.. this is one of the more 'interesting' ones we have seen on our travels! Can you spot the light for nightime? The top hat is where you put the letters, thankfully. We're trying to think what design we want for ours at the moment.. suggestions on a postcard please.

DUDER REGIONAL PARK

Today we went rambling in one of the regional parks, Duder Park. About 40 minutes from where we live.Quite a steep climb through fields of sheep and cows. Jessica was telling us all about the 'pugging cows' - a new term for us to learn, in relation to Dairy farming here! Apparently it's what you call the trampling up of the field, that they do; it's pugging!

The picture shows where we climbed to, and 360 degree views of the ocean.

It was very peaceful for a Bank Holiday (Queen's Birthday) and warm for the equivalent of the middle of winter!

Then we headed home for finishing off homework and a log fire..

AUCKLAND CITY

Here's a view of Auckland City, from the boat, moored near Rangitoto, (which is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf. it has a really distinctive 260 metre high volcano cone which is visible from nearly everywhere. )

It is the most recent and the largest of the 48 volcanoes here, and is Māori for 'Bloody Sky', because when it erupted the sky turned red! I've walked up to the crater at the top, and it wasn't fun! The volcanic boulders make it slow going.. but the views are spectacular and it had to be done, I guess..