Sky jumps, beaches, bike rides, waterfalls and all the bits in between

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So between Christmas, new year, and coming home, we were based at Cath and Careys house, doing bits of different things that maybe don't warrant a write up for each day. For example laying on a beach- nothing much to write home about eh?! However I didn't want to leave a large gap in the blog (or in our future memories) so here is a quick rundown of the things we got up to:



On 28th December the boys and Jan were up and out early to go fishing. Cath pre-empt the result and made plans for lunch, which turned out to be good thinking as they returned with nil catch. On their way home they popped into Caths sisters to have a look around-we were all meant to go visit there today as she has a pool which would be great for Reuben, but the weather forecast wasn't great hence the change of plans. The girls went on a bike ride first thing around Pukekohe which was nice, but the lack of phys in recent weeks was evident when we got to the hills! Afterwards, Cath, Laura and I went for a walk along the black sandy beach and stopped for a hot chocolate on the cliff tops at a place called Castaways which was a nice little resort. Gareth and Michelle took the boys swimming, and we all met up back at the house later that afternoon. The boys having been awake so early to go fishing, retired for a power hour before their night out in Auckland. Careys boss had said he would like to take them all on a boys night out (no girls-and unfortunately no Rhys as you had to be 23 to go into the casino) so instead the rest of us went to a nice Turkish restaurant in town. Reuben had pizza and was Happy with this as it is the staple diet of the Ninja Turtles.



http://www.castaways.co.nz/resort/home/



29th December

We visited Hunua Waterfalls today which were beautiful. Reuben chased the ducks and the boys tried out various acrobatics in the water. Along the path was a large picture frame that was a lovely photo opportunity with the waterfalls in the background. We took it in turns to have our pictures taken, then someone came up with the genius idea of hanging from the picture frame. Now I was too short and couldn't reach the frame enough to cling on- my finger tips were slipping as I tried to reach but it wasn't happening. Cue the boys to show us how it's done. They decided to go in age order with Rhys helping Reuben at the end. 'Say Cheese' well by the time I'd clicked the camera in the blink of an eye, poor Reubs had slipped and crashed to the floor, banging his head and ribs at the same time- yet more bruises and cuts to add to the collection! After a brief whimper he was fine though and just telling uncle Rhys 'you dropped me!'



http://waterfalls.co.nz/waterfalls-by-region/north-island/80-new-zealand-waterfalls/north-island/auckland/71-hunua-falls





Monday 30th December



Gareth, Michelle and the boys were up and out early today to drive up north to the Bay of Islands. Michelle had really wanted to go to 90 mile beach as it was a place they didn't manage to visit during their last trip. Sadly it remains unticked on the list as it was just too far to go there and back in a day, so instead they went to the Waitangi Treaty grounds. This is the historical place where the treaty was first signed between the Maori and British crown in the 1800s. You'll have to ask Michelle and Gareth for more info on that one, but they had a good day and took plenty of pictures of the traditional masks and historical areas.

After spending so long with all of us together, I really just wanted to spend a bit of time with Daryl, but we couldn't decide what to do. We looked at doing the bike ride of Waiheke island just by Auckland, but all the tours were booked. As everyone was out for the day, we decided to use the house as a base, and ended up going on a bike ride for a couple of hours in the morning. It poured with rain, but it was still a nice day, and we went for lunch in Pukekohe. The others went into Auckland again for the day, and Rhys Jan and Den visited some museums, whilst Rhyd and Lau got the ferry over to Devonport.



31st December 2013

We were up and about today getting ready to go to Awhitu beach. Carey, Den, Daryl, Rhyd and Rhys went to play golf and met us down at the beach. The boys Kayaked over to a little island, and Reuben brought a dead crab back to throw at his Mum! It was a nice place but the tide went out quite early, so the kayaks were redundant for the rest of the day! The boys played frisbee (Daryl must have been disappointed he was named the worst catcher by Carey)

On the way home we stopped by the lighthouse which had some great views of the peninsular so a nice photo opportunity. We passed the oldest pub in New Zealand (about x3 trying to get a picture) but have since googled it and it may not have actually been that one......!

Back at the house we showered and changed and got ready to welcome the new year in the Southern Hemisphere with a BBQ and a few drinks. I managed to call home and speak to my sister which was nice as it was still a way off new year back home.

When midnight struck we did the traditional Auld Lang syne before a few sloped off to bed. The remainder of us had a few more drinks and made New Years resolutions for each other. I'm not sure how successful they will be, for example Rhys had to take part in x3 games of rugby (he said watching is still taking part) Daryl to not work past 1700 for 2 weeks in a row and mine was to get up at 6am every day for 2 months........ Time will tell) Anyway, happy new year everyone!





1st January

Today we had quite a chilled out day and most of us went to the cinema, at one point or another throughout the day as it was the only thing that was open! Jan and Den took Reuben and Caleb out for the day in the car to do some sightseeing, and Carey and Daryl managed to get a round of Golf in later in the day.



Thursday 2nd January

Everyone was up and out early this morning to go to the beach and get out on the boat for a bit if fishing. Michelle meanwhile had booked the Sky Jump, so I went into Auckland with her and Gatch to bear witness to the event. After doing the skywalk (and shaking like a leaf at that) hats off to Michelle for doing this-that building really is high! She got all suited and booted and made her way to the top with 2 others in the group. Gatch and I went to the landing platform to meet her at the bottom. The first guy who came down was so funny. I won't write what expletives he was shouting when he landed, but he was so nervous. His girlfriend had bought him it as a birthday present, so for him there was no getting out of the jump. He managed to find his feet and turn to Gareth to say 'you wife let me go first, she's up there keeping us all calm telling us what to do' Thats our girl! Michelle was the 3rd one down, and loved every minute (she has the video of it on USB and even then managed to look cool calm and collected!)

We made our way to meet the others at the beach, and had a go at fishing. We didn't catch anything (I think Daryl was disappointed that Lau had outdone him as she had a catch this morning) whilst we were on the boat, the others had a go at kayaking for a couple of hours until it was time to go home.

For our last night we went for a meal in a place called the Saloon in Pukekohe. This place had a great atmosphere and a bucking bronco that Reuben just loved. He was wearing a cowboy hat thinking he was Woody off Toy Story. He managed to stay on though-what a cowboy!

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