Messing about in the river!

Afternoon siesta at Aio Wira ...

... before we cut down the fallen tree in the background.

Looking upstream ...

from the same spot.

Our new (second-hand) 'motel'!

The Old & The New ...

... on changeover day.

Picking up a couple of hitchhikers ...

And two more ...
... Prem and Sally (our friends from Glen Eden)

Aio Wira - A Centre of Peace in a Busy World!

Aio Wira - A haven of peace and relaxation.

Absolutely gorgeous!

We'll be sorry to leave ...

... and delighted to return in April ...

to fast!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Tuesday 23-12-08 (Day 39)

We’ve been having a wonderfully relaxing time, despite our WWOOFing duties, at Aio Wira for the last nine days, a beautiful retreat centre 20-30km west of Auckland – see www.aiowira.org.nz. Off the beaten track in a secluded area of bush. Two minutes walk to the river where we’ve been swimming every other day or so – VERY REFRESHING! One of our WWOOFing tasks was to cut down a fallen tree that was blocking the swimming lane in the river – sweaty work, but great fun!

Di, the manager at Aio Wira, went off for a few days break before Christmas, leaving Julie and me in charge, thereby realising one of our dreams – to run a centre! Di’s car broke down on the way back, delaying her return by several days, so we were in charge even longer than expected, and still we managed to cope! Especially checking that the sauna remained in full working order and use!

Met more lovely people here, several of whom have given us their addresses (or those of friends or relations), who we can visit later in our travels. Everyone is very friendly here. It’s great.

After Christmas, we’re off to the Coromandel for a few days before a 5 day music festival over New Year – see www.prana.org.nz

What else have we been up to?

I’ve attended my first ever yoga classes – magic! I’ll definitely do more.

We’ve edited the Aio Wira Fasting Book and the Aio Wira Recipe Book as Di and her helpers are not as familiar with computers as Julie and I. We’re going to return here in April and do a 5 day fast. Hugely beneficial – apparently!

We’ve attended a singing weekend workshop with Chris James – very worthwhile though challenging at times.

Been exclusively vegetarian whilst at Aio Wira – part of their policy – and enjoyed copious fresh fruit and veg in multiple guises – inspiring us to take greater care of ourselves and our diet henceforth.

Watched some inspiring DVDs featuring Eckhart Tolle and Oprah Winfrey (talking about Eckhart’s latest book ‘A New Earth’), Byron Katie and the Dalai Lama.

Visited and WWOOFed at Otamatea Eco-Village – fantastic! – see www.otamatea.org.nz

Visited a Co-housing scheme called 'Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood' in Ranui - fabulous!

Been to a DUP (Dances of Universal Peace) evening at Birkenhead - that's what the place was called, honest!

Seen the oldest living tree on the planet – ‘Tane Mahuta’ (Lord of the Forest) – a giant Kauri tree considered to be ~2000 years old!

And so our adventure continues ...

It could be several weeks now before we get the chance to make another entry on our blog – so we’d like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year.

With love

Richard and Julie xxx

Bush walk before breakfast!

It's this way. Trust me ... !

Peep Bo!

Yeah ... I reckon I could climb that ...

Come down Richard!

Why couldn't he just use his zoom lens
to photograph the birds?

He's up there somewhere, I think!

And I bet he'll want to climb this one too...
Such a boy!

Wild and free!

Lion Rock at Piha Beach, where the 'golden sands' are black and volcanic!

But there's still plenty of colour in the sky!

Our 'motel' for the night. Did some serious 'off-roading' here ... seriou-zZzZz that is!

Surrounded by some magnificent Kauri trees ...
... that we enjoyed more in the morning!

Gone Swimming!

This place looks a bit busy! Are you sure it won't be too crowded?

It looks OK from up here!

But down here I could see it was going to be difficult to find a good spot! ... However, we persevered and found one eventually! Long way to the loos though!





So this is where the hotel pool is! It's absolutely HUGE! It's even got a wave machine and loads and loads of sand.

Actually, Uretiti beach is our favourite beach - so far! - and our 'room' is just behind the dunes - see!

Healthy Eating!

'EarthSeed Organics' - one of two fantastic health food shops in Glen Eden. This one is right by the station and it really is 'just the ticket'!







It even has a 'buffet car' which we visited several times!

Our 'hotel'!

So, this is our 'hotel' for the first two weeks of our trip. We rang room service and got 'Meals On Wheels'! Can't find the lift or the restaurant but I'm sure it'll be fine!

We did eventually find the balcony though, where we had afternoon tea in beautiful sunshine ...

... with amazing views over Auckland.

Prem and Sally, our hosts, are absolutely lovely. They made us extremely welcome, especially since we hadn't met until we arrived, having only been introduced through a mutual friend before we left England!

... and so our adventure begins!