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Published: March 2nd 2006
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Upper Hutt
Outside Wellington we stopped for a car check here. The young fellow hoisted our car up, said the noise was from a loose heat deflector on the muffler, removed the rear one and welded the front one, all in about 10 minutes from our arrival.Then CHARGED US NOTHING because it wasn't a big job. So send all your friends here for the great service! Around January 20th we left Whangarei and headed to the east coast south of Auckland. Originally we had planned to go to Rotorura first, then swing over to Tauranga to visit the daughter of my first cousin Judith.
However, it began to rain the night before we left Whangarei, and we drove through an intense downpour during which one city south of Auckland became flooded. We changed our plans from sight-seeing in Rotorura to going straight to stay with Natasha and Steve, who encouraged us to do so. The rain kept up off and on for a couple of days.
Natasha had visited my parents in London, Ontario, about 16 years ago when she was on a scholarship to study in North America. I had never met her because we were living in Alberta at the time, so she showed me pictures of her visit in London at that time. Natasha invited over her brother Damian and his father Errol who gladly came by to meet us. We were practically celebrities!!!!
The greatest treat on my birthday, January 26, was to not be in the snow and winter. We set out for Rotorura, and as the morning progressed
Hamilton Botanical Gardens
My cousin Natasha accompanied us with her son Joel on a brief trip here. It was very hot and humid, then rainy. the skies cleared and the sun came out for the afternoon! It was fantastic. We had a picnic on the lawn in front of the museum, where we spent the afternoon. We didnt' have time to see anything else. That night Natasha showed me how she makes Pavlova Roll. Pavlova is the meringue dessert described earlier on this site. This one is made in a flat tray, then cooled and covered with creme, then rolled like a jelly roll. After it sets in the fridge for a while, it can be cut into slices. Nice and easy. And sweet but light.
One day we went to a local beach and dug for pippies in the water with Steve's mother June, who is a load of fun. Pat and Steve later used the pippies for bait after cooking them on the stove, and went fishing in the ocean. They caught a starfish, the anchor, and pippies. When I asked Joel what was his favourite part of going fishing with his Dad and Pat, he said "Peeing off the side of the boat!" So it was a success all round.
We were in Tauranga for a week, some of which
Hamilton Gardens
Pat and Joel sport our solution to rain and intense sunshine all in the same day. In the scenic Indian gardens section. time was spent just resting. It's amazing how being on holiday can wear you out. I found myself yearning for a day of lazing about reading and no more looking at sights for a while. We have been keeping up our running, when it can fit into our travel schedule, mostly Mon Wed and Fri still. Unfortunately I fell on our first run in Tauranga, and gashed my hands and right elbow severely. As I write this on March the 2nd, the healing is well under way on the elbow. Heck, the scab just fell off yesterday! It was in the most inconvenient spot - where I kept banging it on the console in the car reaching for maps or just resting my arm. For the first week I had to keep changing bandages so I had to stay out of all the hot pools and spas anyway. Oh well, perhaps we will see Rotorura on the way back to Auckland.
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