We were sad to wake to rain this morning but enjoyed watching the “Breakfast Show,” NZ’s version of “The Today Show.” We will miss Paul and Phippa. Paul is a riot, definitely not PC. Phippa tries, but fails, to keep him in line.

Happily the rain stopped at noon, so we headed outside. Bob’s fishing buddies from yesterday walked by, so he went to watch the torpedo head out to sea. He joined them again later in the day when they pulled in the line, but they didn’t catch any fish today. However, Andy lost his jandal (flip flop) in the surf this morning when sending out the line, and lo and behold, found it this afternoon when the line came back in, so it was a good catch after all.

We took a walk along the beach and shops. Orewa Beach is a resort town which is gateway to the Hibiscus Coast. The beach is over 2km, and there are a variety of water sports available.

You're never far from water in NZ. There are beaches and lakes everywhere, and the people really take advantage of the recreational opportunities they provide. After dinner we walked back along the beach to the park. There was a lot of activity. We saw some men on boards that they propel with long oars. I don’t know what they are called but it looks similar to the punters in Christ Church.

There was a “Monday nighta” weekly fun run in progress. We watched some kids climbing a Norfolk Pine; they were dangerously high. And we saw another tall Norfolk Pine decorated with three long strings of Christmas lights. That was delightful because we have seen very little in the way of holiday decorations, especially Christmas lights. I'm not sure why; maybe the cost of electricity is too high.