New Zealand for a Couple of Days

Returning to Auckland along Highway No 2 between Wahi and Paeroa, you travel through a significant gorge rich in history of gold mining. As you walk up the gorge you can see where the Welsh miners had dug exploratory shafts into the mountain side. Other tunnels are very deep and obviously returned gold for all their digging efforts.

Historic Gorge on the way back to Auckland

Hot pools in the distance down on the beach on the East Coast of the Coromandle Peninsula

Bruce Bignall's railway. Bruce is a potter and built the railway so he could retrieve clay and large trees to fure the kilns. The railway has become a tourist attraction and revenues from tourists go towards rejuvinating the property to bring it back to pristine condition after severe destruction from farming and logging in the past.

A very large Kari Tree. There are not too many left because it is such a great timber for everything from houses to boat building.

One of the boats on display at the maritime Museum.

View from our room at the Copthorne Hotel in Auckland.

A Couple of Pics for Meredith

Hey Meredith here are the pics you wanted from last Saturday night. Click on them to enlarge and then 'right click' and select 'save as'.

Vic n John at Home

Steve Has a Birthday

Looks like Steve has adopted Vic n John's practice of week long birthday celebrations. Pics here are from a get together at home during the week and later on Saturday night when Sue and Meredith joined Gaye, Regan and me at the Plaza in Torquay for a great birthday dinner with Steve. Presies included beach towels and spitfire history.

Red Drop Wattle Bird

Great to see these guys getting urbanised.

More from Sandy Point

On the tandem with Daffy and me doing 32 knots down the speed strip at Sandy Point.

No Speedweek, but....

The SHQ Melbourne Cup weekend was still on. Attracted over 60 windsurfers. The wind was light for the first couple of days and filled in on the Monday to classic Sandy conditions with a 20 knot (strengthening to 30) Sou Wester coinciding with the low tide.

Andrew invited me out for a sail on the tandem. This was great fun. Managed to keep upright and no embarrassing moments.

Panorama Pic courtesy of Paul Davies