Day # 113 - 116

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What a farewell gift from Mangenese Pt this morning. Orcas in the harbour and I finally got a picture of a Rosella. Not a perfect shot but these birds seem very camera shy.

Off to the Whangarei Basin. The sun is shining and there are hordes of families out enjoying the beautiful weather down at the waterfront. There is a nice loop track around the basin which is well worth the wander. Sculptures dotted along the way, with information boards to bring you more insight to the meaning of the sculptures and area.. They have also created and outside gym with equipment. Can’t really see myself doing squats in front of everyone walking past but the kids would have a blast I'm sure. You also get to walk over the Te Matau a Pohe bridge. The Maori Fishhook design is pretty cool (At first glance and perhaps at the wrong angle I thought it was a plane!).



Day 114

Another beautiful day and a chance for Lance to run around the Basin track a few times😊. Today we headed off to watch my Cousins son play rugby for Waikato. Then off to catch up with friends for the night.



Day 115

Awesome night with friends, maybe a little sleep deprived (perhaps one too many wines) but I am sure we will survive it’s not like we have to go to work or anything😊.

The 1^st stop for the day was One Tree Point. One Tree Point sits north of Marsden Point and looks across the Whangarei Harbour towards Mt Manaia. Nice little spot with a Marina just up the road. After a quick coffee we headed to Marsden Point Oil Refinery Visitors Centre. Now this place is worth a visit. Marsden Point is one of the world’s most modern Refineries. They have a massive scaled model of the refinery at the visitors centre. The model was built in the 70’s by 4 Dutchman it cost 1 million dollars back then and it took them 18 months to build. The model has not been updated with the changes but it is still very impressive. The Visitors Centre has a regular light show incorporating the large model that takes you through the various processes from crude oil.

A quick peek at Ruakaka Beach and then onto Uretiti DOC camp for the night.



Day 116

The sun is shining even though the forecast predicts rain and thunderstorms. This morning we did the loop walk that starts behind the Uretiti camp gates. The best part is walking on the beach the track that runs along behind the dunes is pretty average (nothing to see except the gorse with yellow flowers, and the added bonus of listening to the vehicle noise from State Highway 1). We did however see the signs that say major gaslines do not dig. (We are assuming they will be the big gas lines coming from Marsden Point Refinery and heading down to Manukau). My suggestion is to stick to a beach walk here. Uretiti is a beautiful expansive beach you could walk for miles.

The skies have opened up and it’s time for us to start collecting fresh water off the awning. Get our books and chill. Actually I managed to con Lance into whipping up a batch of scones for afternoon tea😊.

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