Five of us headed off to Kawau Island which is in the Hauraki Gulf, a couple of hours drive from home. We got a water taxi to the wharf at Schoolhouse Bay. Then we had to carry our bags, food, etc up to the house - one of the buildings on the hillside.
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| Allister grabs some bags |
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| Schoolhouse Bay |
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| Our airbnb... |
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| ...with great views of the harbour |
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| A little cabin in the woods. |
We walked across the island to Mansion House.
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| Elaine on the track |
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| A weka |
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| Old copper-mine workings |
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| One of the wallabies that remain on the island after being brought in colonial times from Australia |
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| The Mansion House, once the residence of Governor Grey |
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| Some huge trees (and Malcolm) in the Mansion House garden |
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| A peacock in the gardens |
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| Day two, as forecast was rainy so we hunkered down and played board games, read, watched DVDs, ate and drank... |
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| Day three, sun again... |
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| We got the water taxi back to Sandspit... |
...then we went to Matakana for coffee...
...and looked around the markets...
...before heading home. We stopped at Kaiwaka for cheese and to check out the renovations at funky Utopia Cafe.
