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Published: October 20th 2009
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Hello again,
Somehow it is Tuesday, the 20th, and we are just amazed at how quickly the time of our holiday has gone. Our dear friend, John Rose, passed away on Sunday afternoon and we will go to his funeral tomorrow. We are blessed to have seen him and have been with the family during this time.
Sunday was a family day with the Rangers and we did enjoy being with them. The Pre-Christmas dinner was so much work for Dianne, but was wonderful to have with them. Roast leg of lamb and roast chiken - roast potatoes,kumeras (sweet potato), carrots and peas - Yorkshire puddings (popovers), lots of rich brown gravy.
It was a culinary delight. Then, two puddings to top it all off. I have included a picture of the Pavlova with strawberries and the trifle. Yum, yum.
Monday, the sun was shining and we went on a another amazing day trip. We only had to go about 20 minutes to a find another great place called the Karangahake Gorge where there was a lot of gold mining from about 1892 until the 1920's. Really out in the bush following along the river as we walked for quite
a nice level walk. Chrissy actually got very brave and walked across a few of the hanging bridges by herself. Unbelievably beautiful scenery. Quite a few remains of the mining that had been there.
Then, it was on to Waihi where they have a large open-pit mine. They were actually working in the pit where we were here before, but now they have moved all operations underground. They are still mining for gold in this mine. After that, we actually hit the beach at one of the prettiest beaches in New Zealand. We saw only a couple of people riding horses and two people fishing. It was like having your own private beach, but a little cool to do too much. Then, we went on to Tauranga and Mt. Manganui, having lunch in Kati-Kati. We went through a lot of orchards for kiwi fruit and avocados. They used hedges instead of fences in this area and it made a lovely pattern on the hills as we passed.
Kenneth said that it was an easy walk around the bottom of Mt. Manganui, but we could just walk a little way if we wanted to see the beach are. It
was about 3:00 pm, but as we got going, I decided we could just keep going and we would eventually get to the end. Great plan, but it was a lot longer than it seemed it would be. Chrissy bravely kept going, but she had to stop at every bench we found to rest for a few minutes. She would look daggers at anyone sitting on a bench when we got there and they would get up every time so she could sit. Finally, about 5:30 pm, we were coming to the end, but the car was parked about 1/4 mile away, so Kenneth graciously went ahead and brought the car around where we were. We did get to see a little fishing boat come in and unload their catch while walking along the pier. We stopped for petrol (gas) and a cold drink and then went over the Kaimai Range to get back into the Waikato Valley and Te Aroha for evening tea (dinner). A great day with no rain and long walks - very nice.
Tuesday, today, Kenneth and Jim went to Waitomo Caves which has this amazing population of glowworms, while Chrissy and I stayed home
to regroup and get ready for leaving tomorrow. At Waitomo, you go way down into the caves and then go on little rowboat into the caves where the glowworms are. Everyone must be very quiet and as your eyes adjust to the dark, the glowworms appear like a million stars all over the place. It is quite a sight and so breathtaking. Then, Jim got his hair cut in yet another country. He tries to get a haircut in every country we go to visit. Now that's a claim to fame, isn't it?
Will try to get another blog before leaving early Thursday morning to come back home.
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