Patau expedition

Today Malcolm Elaine and I headed to Patau and climbed to the top of the mountain, where we ate our picnic lunch.

Then Elaine led us down by another route and we went to the beach...

where we met up with Jo and Allister.  Nice drinks stop at Parua Bay pub on the way home.

Cycle day 2

Had a peaceful night here and woke to this view :-)

Took the car to Okiahau and set off to ride back to Horeke (checking bus keys were in the backpack!!)  This pretty church is at Okaihau.

This shows the track starting a steep zigzag downhill.

Another downhill section coming up.  I didn't like the picture of a cyclist falling off!

Some of the track was through bush

Nice picnic spot but we got mobbed by chooks.  We had to tell then to flock off, or was that chook off?

Back in farmland

The last section was 1.6 kms along a wide boardwalk at the edge of the Hokianga Harbour.  Then back to the bus, off to pick up the car and back to Kerikeri.

Cycle day 1

Good day today. We wanted to complete the parts of the Twin Coast cycle trail that we have not done before so...parked the bus at Kawakawa and took the bikes on the car to Kaikohe, then spent 3 hours cycling that section of the Twin Coast Trail back to Kawakawa. We had lunch and a look around before Malcolm realised he'd left the bus ignition key in the car!!! So he had his own adventure hitch-hiking back to Kaikohe. We are now parked beside the Hokianga Harbour at the Horeke pub.

The trail was pretty but not outstanding - the best features were the bridges.

Back at Kawakawa

View from the bus

We needed those drinks.

Sunset from the bus

Start of the New Zealand Summer.

After spending a few weeks getting back into 'real' life in our house we decided to get away for a few days on the bus.  First stop Kerikeri.  We parked at Rainbow Falls and walked the track to the Kerikeri Basin where we couldn't resist coffee and cake at the Honey House cafe.

We always love wandering around the grounds of Kemp House, the gardens are always amazing.

The campground is just at the top f the waterfall, a lovely peaceful spot.

Another last day in Hawaii

Due to a mix up on our part we ended up with another night in Hawaii - an expensive mistake but it gave us a chance to explore more of Oahu.  We got an all day bus ticket and headed for Honolulu.

This is the Iolani Palace...

...and nearby was the statue of King Kamehameha, first ruler of the Kingdom of Hawaii.  There were a lot of nice old buildings in this part of Honolulu.

We went to the art museum but didn't go in, except to get a cold drink at the cafe.   En route to the cafe we saw some art and sculpture including this doggie seat.

Next stop was the Foster Botanical Garden where there were some very tall palms...

...and some very big trees, as well as birds and butterflies...

...and this lizard.

Finally we headed back to Waikiki where we visited the war museum and learned about Pearl Harbour etc.  Then we enjoyed the sunset at waikiki Beach.

Then it was off to the airport and back to New Zealand.

Second - and last - day in Hawaii

Today we did a bus tour around the island (O'ahu)and Malcolm wore an appropriate shirt.

The wind at this viewpoint was VERY strong

At the Dole pineapple plantation.

Blowholes

Chinaman's Hat Island.

Hawaii

Nice breakfast, a change from grits!

Hawaii, the birthplace of surfing.  We walked along the beach at Waikiki early this morning.

This huge Banyan tree was planted in the 1800s, it is in the centre of a shopping mall in Honolulu.

This morning we walked along to Diamond Head (on the far right)then this afternoon we wandered this way.

We are glad we don't have development like this in Northland.