Covid made its return to daily life, keeping us confined to our neighbourhood. Fortunately there’s a path that runs along the shore and beside the local Papakura Stream for our daily exercise. When spring came we watched as a duck had a massive hatch of 11 ducklings. Gradually this number has dwindled to just one,…
Autumn in Rotorua
It was the school holidays, and the likelihood of another Covid Lockdown seemed to be receding, so we took a short break to Rotorua. We stayed at Braeside, mostly as the unit we like have a spa pool on a deck overlooking a crystal clear stream. We took a quick trip into town for a…
Prada Cup
Just before another lock-down we went to Eastern Beach in Auckland to watch England vs Italy in the race-off for the America’s Cup.
Return to Russell
Due to covid19 disruptions we haven’t done a lot of travel lately, even though we are free-er than any country on Earth. The threat of lock-down at an hour’s notice lingers. Indeed just a couple of days before we headed North there was a single case in the community. We had dinner at “The Duke”…
Hunting near Kakatahi
We took a quad bike 10 km up a farm track to the hut at the top of a hill. From here on a clear day you got a great view of Mt Taranaki and Mt Ruapehu volcanoes. From here we explored the great scenery. There were a lot of deer and goats. We took…
Kazuya
Kazuya is a restaurant for we you deserve an expensive treat or a special occasion. Portions are small, but with around 14 courses they’re perfect. It’s probably my favourite restaurant in Auckland.
Wenderholm
Wenderholm, just north of Auckland, is a peaceful and safe beach with a large park set back from the beach perfect for picnics and barbecues. We go here at least once a year in Summer.
Russell
Russell is an historic village in the Bay of Islands. We haven’t been up there for 3 years, although it is one of our favourite places for a few days away. It’s a quiet town with a great view and the best restaurants north of Auckland. It’s one of the few places left with weka…
Reflection rainbow
Jess and I saw this rare reflection rainbow between the inner rainbow and fainter outer rainbow. I’ve never seen one before.
Turama Festival
A mid-Winter light show at Albert Park in Auckland. The weather held though it was still cold. I still have no idea what Turama is.