NZ Revisited

It was good to get back to NZ after the heat of OZ, no humidity and a temp of 24C.
The last time in the Hawkes Bay area we stayed at a Motel and having toured the area previously, decided to stay in Havelock North which is a very nice little village. We rented a cottage just outside the village which was a restored 100 year old building of ‘cosy’ proportions and the bedroom reminded me of the caravan bedrooms we have stayed in at an earlier age. The garden, though, was very large and well stocked so most of the days were spent lounging around with the odd visit to Ocean Beach, Napier and the Montieth’s bar down the road.
After four days we travelled north via Lake Taupo and Rotarua to our favourite accommodation, the cottage at Papamoa, it certainly lived up to our expectations and was even better this time than the last time we stayed. Again days were spent relaxing in the garden or on the beach but we did go on a couple of long walks, a double walk round Mt. Manganui and a single walk round the estuary a total of 19Km in two days.
After a week here WORK is definitely a four letter word.
There’s a chill in the air first thing in the morning and later in the evening so autumn is on its way to this part of the world, a bit of a shock when you’ve been wearing shorts for the last five months and I’m dreading the thought of having to put my jeans, socks and shoes on again.
Time to travel further north again to the Bay of Islands where autumn is delayed by a couple of weeks.
Paihia and Russel are both marvellous towns and at the end of the summer the weather is still balmy. Paihia is quite a bit busier than last time we were here but Russell is still very sleepy.
We went on a four hour snapper fishing trip on the MV Belfast along with four other people from Hungary, unfortunately three of them got sea sick and although the weather was excellent there was quite a big swell running. There was a bit of a competition between myself and Sheila as to who would catch most fish and Sheila was off to a good start with a small Snapper followed by hooking a 1 metre Mako Shark which was very lively indeed, jumping out of the water several times. It was, however, too strong for the line which snapped. I quickly caught up with small Snapper, every one we caught was under the legal size to keep, and the final tally was Sheila three Snapper and a smoothound, plus a hooked Mako Shark, and me seven Snapper and a smoothound. Subsequent fishing from the rocks saw a Kowhai and two mullets caught.
On the way back to Auckland we drove down the West Coast which was a little bit longer but well worth it as the scenery was stunning especially the dunes at Opononi.
We are now back in Auckland and there will be nothing worth putting in the Blog that was not already put in last time we were here, so we are off to the States on Thursday and the final leg of the trip.