Kepler Track Final Day

"are you sure this bridge is safe Tom?"

Some great river views

and more, very safe (for 10 persons or fewer) bridges!

and we finish (!) apart from the short 45min (!) walk back to the town

Kepler Track Day Three

A beautiful start to the morning in Iris Burn Forest...

some fantastic wildlife along the way...

and great view back through the valley (by 'the big slip' 1984 landslide!)

through the forest and across numerous streams and rivers

and zig-zagging up and down for what seemed a lifetime...

to the gorgeous Lake Manapouri

and the hut right by the lake (and the sandflies!)

Kepler Track Day Two

We started the second day bright and cheery...

made it to the top of Mt Luxmore (1400m/4500ft)

made some friends along the way... (Keas)

appreciated the beauty of it all...

and enjoyed lunch with a view...

but struggled with the huge downhill...

before a much needed cooling off break...

and finally arrived in the hut (8 hours later!)

Kepler Track Day One

Lake Te Anau

Ready to Go

Tom faces a hurdle in the forest

6 & a half hours later - Mount Luxmore Hut

Judge Jules @ Starzz

Happy Christmas :)

erm, that should have read Happy Hanukkah! sorry

5 Year Anniversary

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary at Red on Jervois - lovely meal & champers followed by romantic stroll along 'our' beach :)

Ellerslie Flower Show

Well last weekend was fun- we had a great time staying in Taupo and then we came back to help out on our friend Heather's art stall on which some of our cards were displayed, at the Ellerslie Flower Show, an event not dissimilar to the Chelsea Flower Show but perhaps a bit smaller. The event was great fun to help out at and good experience for Rachel's art business.

We've come on holiday by mistake Vol II

Lucy & Roo enjoyed three and a half more days of relaxing, seeing the Auckland sites and devouring much more tea & cake before we headed off again. This time our destination was Lake Taupo, roughly in the middle of the North Island (approx 3.5 hours drive from Auckland). Taupo is NZ's largest lake, some 606 sq km in area and the result of a volcanic erruption roughly 26,500 years ago producing 800 cubic km of ash & pumice fact fans!

After a beautiful scenic journey (apart from industrial Hamilton, commonly known as 'The Tron') after which we seemed to be followed by several huge speeding vehicles which all very suspiciously seemed to have no driver (few too many horror movies watched I think!) we arrived in Taupo to the most awesome sunset over the already beautiful lake.

Sunstruck, we found our way to Daphne the lovely house we'd rented just a short walk from the lake. It was much bigger than we'd imagined and extremely well equipped with games and fabulous retro crockery so we stayed in with some tucker, beers and a great game of pictionary!

Friday found us fishing in the rivers feeding into Lake Taupo including the Tongariro river. To be more precise, Roo fished

whilst Lucy, Tom & Rache walked upstream, paddled in the freezing water and took copious amounts of photos.

Back at the lake's beach we watched in awe as a man rose from the depths and waded his way through the waist high waters over to us (well kind of). We called him The Oracle and he told us many a tale of Taupo and the horrors of growing up and living in New Zealand: "Ugh, the beautiful scenery, it's flipping terrible bro! The sun, the sea, the pinot gris - we must be cursed bro! I wouldn't wish it on anyone bro!" He advised us not to visit the hot springs with a picnic of the much mentioned Pinot Gris and Kaipati cheese unless we were prepared to be sorely disapointed (we'll have to save that for another time)!

When the Oracle departed back into the depths, we headed happily up to Turangi for more tea & cake and then, exhausted by the scenery, we returned home for Tom's lovely veggie curry.

On Saturday we explored the Waikato river and swam in a deliciously hot pool whilst Roo cast his lines again. Hot but feeling adventurous (i.e. Tom made us!) we headed up towards the Huka Falls. Roo & Lucy turned back after the look out stop (below)

and found a lovely private beach where Lucy swam and Roo fished some more. Tom & Rache continued onwards through lush plants & trees towards the amazing Huka Falls

and then hung around in the car park with the chicken, ducks and hungry sparrows for an hour whilst Roo & Lucy tried to find us!

Back in Taupo we sampled drinks from the Irish bar and a view of the still impressive sunset before heading homeward for a delightful dinner of cauliflower cheese cooked by Lucy served on an exquisite table prepared by Roo! Stayed in again whilst Tom & Lucy tried to finish a puzzle which was unfortunately still incomplete by the next morning when we departed Daphne's comforts for Auckland and the Ellerslie Flower Show.

Photo Update (Bay of Islands)

Nightime view from our Sublime Apartment

Sea Kayaking at Paihia

Horse-trekking in Paihia/Opua

Did someone call the cops?!

View from Helena's Bay Gallery Cafe

Roo, Lucy & The Bear

We've come on holiday by mistake Vol I

Lucy and Roo arrived on 8th November and after a day and a half relaxing we dragged them off to the Bay of Islands (240k / 3 hours drive from Auckland city) for a long weekend. We stayed at the very sublime Sublime Apartments in delightful Paihia, a small coastal town with a very European feel. Our first night found us in an Ibiza style bar (below) where it seems all the young trendy travellers hang out.

Friday saw us hiring two double kayaks and paddling energetically across the bay to Waitangi (where the treaty between the main Maori tribes and the British government was signed in 1840, fact fans!) via a tiny beach stop on a neighbouring island. It was great fun and we cut a dashing picture as we hauled our kayaks up onto Waitangi beach, picked up our paddles and strolled nonchanontly around the smart visitors centre in our wet shorts & t-shirts! After refreshing tea & cake which Roo & Lucy demanded, we paddled the long trip back to Paihia.

Fuelled by the previous day's energy we headed a little outside of Paihia (Opua) on Saturday for an exciting afternoon of horse-trekking. Our horse-experience ranged from beginner to advanced. Rachel had barely touched a horse before but kept up with the main group on the slightly stubborn Danish and even managed a little trot - very impressive for her first time! Lucy cantered off on her horse for a while whilst the rest of us plodded along slowly up hill and down dale. Roo's horse Po found the walk a big distraction to his constant desire to eat and Tom coped very well with Santos who almost threw him off whilst having an uncivilised disagreement with Lucy's horse!

In the evening we ventured over by ferry to Russell which used to be the capital city and is now a small tourist spot with a few shops and pubs. We didn't stay too long due to having to catch the last ferry back at 10 and Rachel being a little spooked by the old buildings and definite ghostly vibe to the town! Still, the ferry ride was lovely!

We left fairly early on Sunday to take in a few more bays on our way back to Auckland. The first beach we stopped at was a bit muddy but the sea was gorgeous so we strolled along and met a manic little bird running around making a racket - possibly to protect her little ones from such strange intruders as us.

Tom then had some off-road driving practice and we found ourselves at a gorgeous quiet beach further round the Pacific coast-line. After a tentative swim in which Lucy & Rache insisted on panicking at the slightest hint of some life under the water, and a thorough exploration of the beach, we headed back on the road for a while. Lucy and Roo were getting peckish and started to demand tea and cakes again, so as if by magic a gorgeous roadside Gallery and Cafe appeared!

Helena's Bay Gallery is a must stop off point when travelling from Bay of Islands to Auckland - the art work is prolific, eclectic and beautiful, the view is awesome and the food and hospitality as friendly and yummy as any you'll find in NZ - deeeelicious! Lucy & Roo made friends with the resident dog, disguised as a rock hunting bear.

more photos to come...