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Published: January 9th 2013
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On the the morning we were due to meet our friends Stanny and Carla we spent a few hours on Sandy Bay, a lovely surf beach about forty minutes from Whangarei. The weather again was good so I thought I'd give the surf board another try...and again failed with honours! Maybe I should give paddle boarding a go instead. Afterwards we headed to Whangarei and had the best fush n chups of the trip from Stumpy's just near the city basin. The chips were excellent, crisp and soft to the perfect ratio and the beer battered Hoki was a taste sensation! They even had vinegar which is a rarity for New Zealand , it only missed mushy peas which are non existent in NZ - they don't know what there missing. They have some funny food combos in NZ but the favourite seems to be egg with everything, strange folk.
After we munched down the chips we headed just two minutes up the hill to the house Stanny and Carla were sitting. The house came with dogs, cats, chickens, a resident goat and a sun kissed deck that had a great view over Whangarei. The best thing though, was a fridge
full of cold beer! I don't know what else I expected, we were staying with Stanny. :-)
We enjoyed a few beers on the deck before heading into town to meet some of Stanny and Carla's new friends, a bunch of fun ex pats who meet every week for a few beers and it was great to be around Brits again just chatting and having a bit of banter. However, with Jane and I not used to drinking heavily we were both soon pretty wasted and it was time to end the night with a kebab and a taxi home. The fun didn't stop there it continued back at the house with a good sing song until the early hours...
Needless to say the next morning there were a few sore heads knocking around, but as the sun was shining and Stanny and Carla's five year old son Dylan was keen to try out his new snorkelling equipment so we headed to lovely quiet horseshoe shaped beach where we could sit back and relax. As the hangover's started to decline and the thirst for beer started to return I was more than pleased that Stanny had packed the
chilly bin (cool box to normal folk) full of beer. Legend. That afternoon with Carla being a local and knowing the area we headed to an amazing long deserted surf beach where the only access was to travel across a farmers field. We all got in the sea and enjoyed the waves and Dylan enjoyed climbing the vines and being the 'captain of the rocks and beaches'; I'm not sure what that involved but it sure did sound like a good job! That evening Carla was unfortunately on a night shift so the rest of us enjoyed a quiet night with a Chinese takeaway and a DVD.
On New Years Eve Eve we met up with our friends Laura and Scott who had travelled up from Christchurch to Whangarei to be with Scott's family for new year. We went out for a walk to the viewpoint whilst Scotts mum kindly prepered a lovely lunch of freshly homemade scones and sandwiches. It was very kind and unexpected, thank you McKenzie clan. After lunch we headed out to the stunning whale bay and even though it was raining we all stripped off to our togs and went for a refreshing swim
in the surprisingly warm pacific waters . As we were in the sea the clouds disappeared and the sun came out but the perfect view was somewhat blemished by another elderly couple who had also stripped off but quite clearly forgotten their togs as I had full view of some wrinkly balls bouncing back across the sand! Very funny. After we had dried off it was off to the pub for a few beers in the afternoon sun. It was unexpected but great to see Laura and Scott again and we look forward to seeing them both back in the UK for Lucy's wedding - hopefully without any wrinkly balls on Hornsea beach!
That evening Carla had prepared a lovely meal which we enjoyed on the deck whilst the sun set over Whangarei. After dinner we watched the NZ film 'Once Were Warriors' and learnt more about NZ history and culture than we had in our previous two months. An excellent if somewhat disturbing film.
On New Years Eve the weather was again sunny and hot so we packed up the chilly bin and went to the lovely Matapouri beach. The waves were great so we spent a
good few hours boogie (NZ for body) boarding and making sand castles.
On New Years Eve me and Stanny headed into town for a couple of beers whilst the girls cooked up a lovely dinner. After a few cocktails we celebrated the turn of the year on the deck with a glass of fizz with the perfect view of all the fireworks.
On New Years Day we recovered on yet another amazing beach, Ruakaka, within thirty minutes drive of Whangarei. Whangarei is a nice little compact place with everything you need, but the real draw is it is perfectly located within a short drive of literally hundreds of amazing beaches! We spent the day boogie boarding , swimming and sunbathing; the perfect start to the new year.
The next day it was unfortunately time to leave and backtrack south to see the Coromandel Peninsular.
Dylan asked "why do you have to go?"
Jane's reply"because we don't live here, we live in England in a town called Beverley"
Dylan's reply "ah yes, I know the place"!
Such a wise five year old. :-)
We thoroughly enjoyed staying with our friends Stanny, Carla and Dylan, thanks for
all your help and showing us such an amazing time in and around Whangarei . We loved it and we look foreword to seeing you again soon hopefully.
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Anne Ash
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Wrinkly Balls
No chance of ever seeing any of those in Hornsea!