Days 29-31

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Hi folks. We've done a bit of riding about in the last few days.
One trip was to a place North of Auckland, called Makatana, which was a little town with some interesting shops and cafes, including another expensive shoe shop which we just couldn't resist, well one of us couldn't. There was also a pleasant river walk, surrounded by tropical vegetation.



From there, onto Goat Island, which is rumoured to be one of Natalie's favourite spots. It's a big snorkelling place, but when we arrived, everyone seemed to be leaving. Perhaps they knew something we didn't? They sure did! I had time to take a couple of pretty pictures, before noticing that one of the small islands you could see had disappeared. There were no illusionists around, but we realised too late what was happening, when the heavens opened and soaked us to the skin in the 50 yards it took us to get back to the car. But getting soaked here isn't such a disaster as it is at home. Within 10 minutes the rain had stopped, the ground was steaming and our clothes seemed to dry almost as quickly as they'd got wet.



So we were able to move on to our next stop, Pakiri Beach, a great surfing place in the middle of nowhere. The state of the approach roads made us realise why so many people here seem to have 4x4s, it's because they need them, unlike the Chelsea Tractor drivers back home.
Oh, and we had fish and chips yet again on the way home, never let it be said that I don't know how to show a lady a good time - all these classy eating out places!



On another day we drove through Kumeu, NW of Auckland, which has several good vineyards, to Muriwai Beach, another surfing beach, though this one was covered in black sand, a result of the ancient volcanoes in the area. At one end of the beach was a large gannet colony. You could stroll for miles along the beach here.



The waves looked very fierce and powerful and only a narrow strip of the beach was open for supervised bathing. There have been a number of drowning tragedies and quite a few near-misses in the area in the short time we have been in New Zealand, you really have to respect the waves and the currents here.



So, tomorrow we move to the Metropolis, looking forward to being in the heart of the city with a harbour view from the 25th floor, and above all, a bath!! Our next blog should be a lot cleaner!

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Photos

Matakana
River Walk

Goat Island
One minute later we were soaked to the skin!

Leigh Chippy
Don't be put off by the appearance - great fish & chips!

Comments

[Joff Harvey]

Keep Up The Blogging
You seem to be having a whale of a time. Have you been up Ninety Mile Beach yet? It was my first day back at work for the New Year today and we were greeted with snow. Enjoy the 25th floor!