Well, we've been in Orewa, around 35km north of Auckland, for a week now, and we can safely say that the love affair with NZ continues! We've managed to resolve some issues with accessing the Internet and so can share some images and thoughts from our time here so far.
We're staying in a lovely home in a quiet part of town that is less than 15 minutes on foot from the beach. We've had beautiful weather all week (although today - Saturday - the remnants of Cyclone Lusi are blowing through the north island bring strong winds and some rain - perfect weather for posting stuff on the old blog!) and have been on the beach every day. The girls have learned how to boogie board and are having a blast - check out their pages and the video below.
We've also discovered a few excellent walks in local reserves. The first picture is from Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve and the rest are from Shakespear (sic) Regional Park on Whangaparaoa Peninsula, about a 30-minute drive from where we are staying. Alice Eaves was about a 30-minute loop through native bush and huge kauri trees, which were very impressive. Shakespear Regional Park offered several hiking choices and we chose one that took us through native bush along a winding creek, up some hills covered in open pasture, among some grazing cows (not fenced off), and around the top of the high ground, which featured WWII gunnery sites, and beautiful views across Te Huruhi Bay to Auckland. Our hike lasted close to two hours, and we were both impressed with the girls' increasing stamina to complete (and ENJOY!) longer treks - good on you Teaghan & Rowan!!!!!!
We're staying in a lovely home in a quiet part of town that is less than 15 minutes on foot from the beach. We've had beautiful weather all week (although today - Saturday - the remnants of Cyclone Lusi are blowing through the north island bring strong winds and some rain - perfect weather for posting stuff on the old blog!) and have been on the beach every day. The girls have learned how to boogie board and are having a blast - check out their pages and the video below.
We've also discovered a few excellent walks in local reserves. The first picture is from Alice Eaves Scenic Reserve and the rest are from Shakespear (sic) Regional Park on Whangaparaoa Peninsula, about a 30-minute drive from where we are staying. Alice Eaves was about a 30-minute loop through native bush and huge kauri trees, which were very impressive. Shakespear Regional Park offered several hiking choices and we chose one that took us through native bush along a winding creek, up some hills covered in open pasture, among some grazing cows (not fenced off), and around the top of the high ground, which featured WWII gunnery sites, and beautiful views across Te Huruhi Bay to Auckland. Our hike lasted close to two hours, and we were both impressed with the girls' increasing stamina to complete (and ENJOY!) longer treks - good on you Teaghan & Rowan!!!!!!