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!