Recent Posts

Robby & Ryan, Come On Down!

Feb3 Robby and Ryan, Peggy’s nephews, arrived from California! After an all night flight, when they were still suffering from jet lag, we threw them off Auckland’s tallest building, the Sky Tower! We put them in special jump suits with a harness, hooked them to a cable and off they went, 192 meters, straight down. Ryan in flight. Robby, coming

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Back to Whangaparoa

Jan30 we drove to Auckland airport to meet our cruising friends, Elaine and Karl. They had been on their boat in Australia but were returning to her place in Whangaparoa, where we had stayed for the first week when we arrived. At the airport, we rented a car and returned Elaine’s car to her. It was so great to see

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Hokianga

Jan28 we drove to the Sand Dunes Hotel in Hokianga, which is a large harbor on the west coast, still north of Auckland. The harbor has a wide mouth, full of sand bars that move around, so the entrance can be treacherous. Still, this area was the center of the timber industry for many years due to the huge Kauri

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Day Trips: Tawharanui, Goat Island & Muriwai Gannet Colony

We continue to be impressed by the way NZ takes care of its natural resources. Jan14 we drove about an hour north to Tawharanui Regional Park and spent the day hiking, having a picnic and birdwatching. Much of the park is pasture lands where each section is fenced off and sheep are rotated to the various areas. We stopped for

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