Meri Kirihimete!

Christmas morning swim and meeting the locals at Long Bay...where sometimes there's sharks!!!

outdoor shower...

After present opening
Michael can't wait to model his new mountain biking kit !

Our Christmas tree fern...

...it looked better before 2 of the fronds died

Christmas eve drinks in our 'solarium' with Michelle and Aaron

Puffa fish

An extraordinary event today on our beach walk this afternoon we came across two dead Puffa Fish....

Gannet Update

The Gannets have now had babies, they are very cute and fluffy....

I bought a new mega camera so Mike waited patiently as I tried it out on him....

View of the city from our deck with my new camera

See Also: Gannet Colony

Pohutukawa

'Pohutukawa' Kiwis call it natures Christmas tree. The trees mainly grow by the sea and flower these beautiful crimson blossoms in December, these photos were taken this morning on our local beach...we love them

Whakatane & White Island

Last weekend for Jo's Birthday we went away to the 'Bay of Plenty' where we had plenty of adventures

Mike on the voyage out to White Island before he was overcome with sea sickness!

White Island is a huge volcano 49km out to sea...very, very exciting and very, very active

lots of crazy lunar landscapes

lots of smelly steam

big boiling bubbling lime green crater lake

gas masks at the ready for those who can't handle to sulphuric smell...

hard hats in case the volcano decides to spit out rocks, but i think your dead if that happens!!

multitudes of spitting mud pools

At the enterance to Whakatane Heads is Wairaka the wahine who broke tapu and said 'I will act as a man' she rowed her waka back to shore to save the women and children from being being stranded out to sea

We had long walk round the heads up to Toi pa - reputed to be the oldest settlement in NZ coming across this fearsome chap

Birthday Girl

Giant Kiwi at Te Puke the kiwi fruit capitol of the world!

Honeymooners

Sunday night we met up with my old school friend Fiona & Dan (now Mr & Mrs Watson). They got married last week in Fiji and are spending their honeymoon in New Zealand.

We went chillin with Vladimir Illich at minus5 ice bar, where everything is made of ice even the glasses!

Zoe & friends

Our friends Jon & Tanya brought their dog Zoe round to ours last night. After a good sniff around the flat, she showed us some of the skills she'd learned at dog obedience classes.

Later, all of us (exept for Zoe) went out for a curry to celebrate us getting Permanent Residency in New Zealand.

Gannet Colony

We visited these mating gannets perched on the rocky coastline of Muriwai, west of the City.

They love this windswept point for courtship and nest-building. They launch the chicks off the cliff edge about March.

Taupo & Napier

This week I went to Taupo, Mount Ruapehu visible at the end of Lake Taupo erupted on Tuesday evening, causing rather a lot of excitement, I could see the Laha flow on the top of the mountain.

Then onto Napier, full of beautiful Art Deco architecture

kiwi barbie

This weekend we went truly kiwi and invested in a 4 burner gas BBQ - not as much fun as the old charcoal but great for everyday use

The Taranaki

Last week Jo went to New Plymouth for the first time, not the most exciting town but famous for the amazing backdrop of Mount Taranaki - used in the filming of 'The Last Samurai'. Lucky to see it, it is usually shrowded in cloud.

Spring weekend at a 'Bach' in Tairua

We spent this weekend with a few friends at a typical Kiwi bach in the town of Tairua in the Coromandel. Saturday morning we went fishing.

Our mate Steve passed on some Maori fisherman's knowledge and Mike and Michelle both managed to catch their first ever fishes.


By the end of the session, we had caught a kahawhai each.

Next up was chilling on the deck of the bach in the afternoon sun



Claire relaxed with a well deserved cold drink.

The hunter-gathering continued... At low tide, Steve Mike and Aaron went diving for Green Lippped Mussels in the estuary.

We returned with a full catch bag, stopping off at the rockpools, where we witnessed this octopus devouring a crab.

On the edge of Mount Pacu, we discovered a somewhat phallic rock.

Aaron got stuck into some mussels that evening.

Mike enjoying the catch of the day fresh off the barbie.