just the two of us

Whatipu and the Ballroom Cave

Today we went to Whatipu, a west coast beach we have not visited before.

Mike in the mouth of the Ballroom Cave, fitted with a sprung dancefloor in the 1920's which apparently still survives under 5 metres of sand that has drifted in since then...

the sky just goes on forever...

grasses in the dunes...the walk to the ocean

a washed up blue-bottle jelly fish

hundreds of Oystercatchers on Huia beach a small village along the coastline

A very Good Friday!

For Good Friday we went to Tiritiri Matangi Island for the day...we saw this very cute quail chic on the path with its parents...

The Takahe were as cheaky as ever trying to steal peoples lunches...Mike at a stunning lookout spot...

crystal clear waters around the island, on the trip over we saw hundreds of blue penguins basking in the sun just floating on the surface of the sea as it was so calm...

stichbird and bellbirds

Pukeko peering at us

volcanic valley and tree houses

We stayed in this hideawy tree house at the weekend. view of the house from the extremely steep drive...

Mike soaking up the panoramic views from the tree hous deck...

Waimangu - Volcanic Valley is the worlds newest geothermal area. Created by volcanic eruptions from Mt Tarawera in 1886. Frying Pan lake is on average 55c covering 38,000sqm, its the world largest hot spring. Rather atmospheric with steam pourinf out the hillside and swirling on the lake...

all the vegetation is re-colonisation since that date. 70c crater lakes, overflowing to make a boiling waterfall and steaming streams...

Darren and Mike taking in the beautiful aqua mineral pools and silca terraces and craters...

all leading down to beautiful Lake Rotomahana with Mount Tarawera in the background.

The Who - ooh ooh ooh ohh!

Last night we went to see The Who...

we were totally rocked out by the ageing musicians who did a cracking 2 hr set!
Roger is still an smarmy weirdo who Jo is freaked out by...but Pete was legendary with his windmill arm action on the guitar. They had Ringo Starr's son Zack Starkey playing on drums who was pretty good too (apparently he also plays with Oasis)

They were supported by The Counting Crows who were bland as!!!

Nancy & Tony

Nancy & Tony (Hannah's mum & dad) came to stay this week...
We went the west coast and to our local Thai restaurant...

They are on a lifetime trip through Australia, NZ and then leaving us to head to Rarotonga.

Great to see some familar faces, we had lots of laughs and they love our wonderful country...Tony is particularly fond of the face cloths in the motels!!!

Tutukaka coast and Poor Knights Islands

We headed north out of the Smoke for the long weekend, destination: Tutukaka. The first surprise of the day was spotting a heron's nest in a pohutakawa tree with two chicks.

Tutukaka harbour boasts a pretty marina, with more than a few "gin palaces"

From here we set off to Poor Knights Islands, a marine reserve 22km offshore.

The stunning volcanic landscape was the perfect backdrop for what Jacques-Yves Cousteau described as the best sub-tropical diving in the world

We took the plunge... the snorkelling was fantastic. Huge snapper, kingfish, rays, stripey mado etc.

Our boat took us inside the worlds largest sea cave, Rikoriko, where the light in the entrance gives a stunning blue grotto effect.

We returned full up with subaqua experiences, with the shearwaters following us for company.

The following day we journeyed further north, stopping at Whananaki South, a pristine sandy bay where the oyster catchers outnumbered the people.