We spent a very cool week with Shirley and Phil in Katikati, having a massive home cooked supper every night in front of a wood-fired range and sleeping in a comfy bed every night. Our timing was excellent for this visit as cousin Robert and his girlfriend Penny had just finished a van tour of the south island and gave us plenty of insider knowledge about good places to stay and see along the way.
We also got to meet the littlest members of Tom's family, Jesse and Bradley who were so smiley and fun and their mum Emma.
We were also taken out to visit the local sites including Mount Maunganui which has great views of Tauranga from the summit. Tauranga itself was a nice city which increased its appeal when we had fush end chups down on the wharf, staright from the sea. Shirley lent us her car to do a couple of day trips. We visited Rotorua with it's mud pools and hot springs one day and the Karagahake Gorge another day which is very close to katikati and absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the rain prevented us from doing any walking but we managed to squeeze in lunch at a winery instead.
We collected our new van - a monster compared to the one we had in Australia - from Aukland about 5 days ago and headed south on South Highway 1. We went in some great hot springs around lake Taupo that flowed straight into the river which was a highlight for me. It was a bit like being in Jenny's hot tub!
The Dept. of Conservation has great campsites here, loads of which are free in some lovely places so we've been staying at those mainly.
Yesterday we caught the ferry from Wellington to Picton. It's a notoriously bad bit of water the Cook Straights, but we didn't see a single wave. It was a lovely sunny day which gave us the best introduction to the south island through the amazing Marlborough Sounds. We have driven through some stunning scenery this side of the country; snow capped mountains, coast line, and Tom saw his first wild seal this morning and his millionth one about five minutes later in Kiakora on the east coast. We're driving south towards Christchurch today and then tomorrow we're going to make our way west to Mount Cook.
We also got to meet the littlest members of Tom's family, Jesse and Bradley who were so smiley and fun and their mum Emma.
We were also taken out to visit the local sites including Mount Maunganui which has great views of Tauranga from the summit. Tauranga itself was a nice city which increased its appeal when we had fush end chups down on the wharf, staright from the sea. Shirley lent us her car to do a couple of day trips. We visited Rotorua with it's mud pools and hot springs one day and the Karagahake Gorge another day which is very close to katikati and absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately the rain prevented us from doing any walking but we managed to squeeze in lunch at a winery instead.
We collected our new van - a monster compared to the one we had in Australia - from Aukland about 5 days ago and headed south on South Highway 1. We went in some great hot springs around lake Taupo that flowed straight into the river which was a highlight for me. It was a bit like being in Jenny's hot tub!
The Dept. of Conservation has great campsites here, loads of which are free in some lovely places so we've been staying at those mainly.
Yesterday we caught the ferry from Wellington to Picton. It's a notoriously bad bit of water the Cook Straights, but we didn't see a single wave. It was a lovely sunny day which gave us the best introduction to the south island through the amazing Marlborough Sounds. We have driven through some stunning scenery this side of the country; snow capped mountains, coast line, and Tom saw his first wild seal this morning and his millionth one about five minutes later in Kiakora on the east coast. We're driving south towards Christchurch today and then tomorrow we're going to make our way west to Mount Cook.
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