The last few days have been manic hence the missing blog ! Back online today ! Having left Wharangei at 10:00 in the morning we made our way back down towards Auckland to have a short stay with one of Dee's old staff girls - Ranee and her husband Billy !! There was not much traffic on the way down so we made good time and decided to have a little break for tea & coffee etc. We had remembered seeing a "Honey Factory" signposted on the way up so made a stop there. We pulled in and had a look around the shop and then went into the cafe where we had a quick bite and a cuppa !!! At this point the weather was being quite nice to us and we were happy to be in the warm and dry ! After meal ablutions done we got back on the road to head to Auckland to a place just north of the city called Orewa. Again we made really good time but the clouds were beginning to build ! We had told Ranee to expect us at around 15:00 (3 o'clock) but actually got there at 13:15 (1:15) ! This after we nearly went to the wrong house owing to a misunderstanding of the house number ! It was thought we were after number 18 when in fact it was 80 !! Luckily we got the correct interpretation of the house number before we made ourselves look like "daft tourists" !! Having got the right number and parked the car, we had to scale the north face of Everest to get down to their house.. Their drive was very steep and the bad knees amongst us creaked and complained all the way down. Having rung the bell, Ranee opened the door with such glee ! Obviously pleased to see Dee (her old boss) & Trev after such a long time but also to welcome those of us who were complete strangers ! As we entered and embraced in greeting their two dogs (one old and one new - lol) also greeted everyone with rather loud barking ! Great for us to be welcomed so but what we had not realised was that Billy was still asleep in bed having just done a night shift the evening before. Poor Billy, however, drifted into the room looking a little dishelved but had a happy Irish grin on his face ! More welcoming ensued and the dogs started again... Plenty of chatting and catching up and first meet and greet conversations were going on when Billy asked if we would like to go for a stroll along a local beach and walk the dogs with perhaps a stop for a drink !! As this sounded like a good plan we all donned our rain jackets, as it was drizzling lightly again, jumped into our respective cars, dogs in the back, and off we went. A short drive later we parked up and had a pleasant walk along the waterfront. The younger dog (still really a puppy) had so much fun, the older one seemed happy just to plod along at a nice sedate pace. Once we had gone far enough it was mentioned that we should look for somewhere to park ourselves, have a drink and a chat to plan the next moves !! We found a nice little bar where we could sit outside (fortunately dry enough now) and have a small libation or two... A couple of glasses of cider (scrumpy), wine, baileys, Heineken and ginger beer later , a plan hatched we headed back to Ranee & Billy's !!! Here Ranee proceeded to produce an excellent spread of meats, cheeses, bread and salad which the hungry travellers tucked into with relish !! This meal completed the silly girs asked if anyone would like any dessert or something !! Trev, Paul and John's eyes lit up like fireworks and all manner of cakes, sweets, ice cream, cream and by special request 'custard' appeared !!! Well done Ranee - kept the "boys" very happy !! Once the cleaning up was done it was time to settle down for the evening and chat away like old friends never parted. Needless to say one area became the "Navy" corner where many old sea dits (stories) and anecdotes of yesteryear were bandied about !! The banter started almost immediately when Billy (ex Pompey Field Gun) poured a glass of guinness for Paul (ex Devonport Field Gun) but put it into a Pompey command glass !! Much coughing, spluttering and uncouth mutterings later the giggling from the sidelines subsided and the rest of the evening began !! After a few cans of Guinness for Paul, Billy decided he needed a glass of his very special whiskey, and Paul duly obliged by joining him with a glass of rum !! Happy days in the Navy Corner !!! As expected the conversations went on well into the night but eventually poeple started drifting off to bed !! A small final nightcap consumed and the last stragglers retired !!

In the middle of the night John, who had become best friends with Bazinga (Baz to his mates )(the young dog) found him resting at his feet on the bed !! Retrieved by Billy sleep resumed untill about 07:00 where Paul opening the bedroom door found Bazzer almost through the opening, then rapidly disappearing backwards with a look of dismay on his face. The sudden reverse movement was caused by Billy catching the dogs tail and trying to stop him from waking us up, not realising that we were already up and about !! Dog released normal inquisitive operations were resumed !!

During a somewhat leisurely breakfast the plan was to go out to the NZ version of Devonport and have a wander round the area looking at the scenery and views.. We drove up one old volcano, parked and walked round, great photo opportunities here and plenty of gunnery history to boot !! Great views across the bay towards Auckland city !! We then drove off to one of the old NZ naval bases (now a museum) where Billy had previously worked, sat to have a cuppa and a bite to eat and plan the next move .. Girls decided next for them was shopping whilst the boys chose a look aroud the museum before a trip up another old volcano for some more stunning views should be on the agenda !!

The girls popped off with Ranee and the dogs, boys into the museum. As we were leaving our seats a flock of birds quickly desended onto the table picking at the scraps of any crumbs or cream that we had left ! They swarmed in like "The Birds" quickly devoured the offerings and flew off again ! For us the walk around the museum was extrememly informative and passed a pleasant hour. Then Billy got us to drive to the top of the other "hill" where the views were spectacular !! Many photos later we clambered back into the car to head "home" as we were planning to meet up with the girls so that Pat & Paul could pop off to visit some of Pat's old work mates (Ginny & husband Ken) from a very long time ago, whom she had only just recently made contact with again ! Having planned to leave at about 2:00 they eventually left just after 3:15 !! This turned out to be a bad move as a 45 minute journey (to a place Howick) turned into nearer an hour and a half ! This due mainly to the volume of traffic turning the motorway into a virtual moving car park !! What we had not realised was that Auckland had a bus strike on that day and this coupled with it being a friday and everyone trying to get home from school or work as early as possible made the roads much busier than normal !! We eventually arrived at Ginny's more by luck than judgement as we had absolutely no idea where we were going in a foreign land and no sat nav to follow ! ! Again it was another long lost friend reunion with hugs and kisses and back slaps all around. Ginny & Ken are actually in the process of selling their house and had had an open "house event" . Pat not knowing they were moving thought we were at the wrong house but knocked on the door anyway ! Tea and coffee were the order of the day again and an offer of "Chocolate cake and ice cream" was made !!! Another stupid question ??? Chocolate cake and ice cream will never be turned down !!! After this Ginny and Pat went to the shops for some essentials.. Shortly after they had gone, Ken found he needed something also, so called Ginny on her mobile ! No point, her mobile that she deperately needed in case of emergency was on the table. Ginny's little grandson, Liam, saw the ringing phone as a great play opportunity and got to it like lightening !! When it was taken off him the obligatory child tantrums started !! What fun!!?? ..... Ladies returned and out came the photos in the form of a book that had pictures of other old work mates and numerous stories of illicit and clandestine meetings came to light that Pat claimed to have had no knowledge - though she did admit to having heard rumours !! We then had a chat about what, when, why they were moving and saw pictures of the planned new property.. Really hope it works out for them... Alas, all to soon it was time to get back on the road and head back to Ranee's - who had been having a BBQ with the others !!

Whilst Pat and Paul had gone off to visit friends, Billy took Lis and Trev to look at a hand carved tree in Sanders Reserve, about five miles away.

It was an old farm, donated by the Sanders for recreational purposes. Landscaped for mountain biking, horse riding and an area for dogs to run off the leash. Once out of the car, Billy and Lis tore off at quite a pace, leaving the old boy struggling to keep up! Down slopes, through grass fields and along pathways used by the cyclists and horses! All the while with Bazzer the dog meandering this way and that, at a steady trot! Meeting the odd, also off the lead playful hound, which lead to both dogs careering up and down the meadowlands and bridle paths! Much to the amusement off all! The tree was eventually found ! Eventually, they came across a clearing where the beautiful carved tree stood upright and gleaming white in the sunshine! There were people, a boat and Maori figures hand carved in the trunk which stood some 35 feet tall. After taking many photos from various angles, they continued along a narrow walkway, with sea both sides, where roots of tree either side, (but strangely several feet lower), had come to the surface and formed an intricate pattern. On the head of the narrow spit, there were lots of sea shells; these date back to times when ancient Moari fishermen brought their catch ashore? At low tide apparently, the holes in the sea bed can still be seen where the Maori had built a wharf to land their catch? Time to head home, and Billy and Lis charged off once again, leaving the old gent to wander back at his own, much slower, pace! Back to our wonderful hosts for a BBQ !!

This time, the journey back, from Howick, was much quicker as the traffic was almost non existant, although Pat - trying her best to navigate - maintained that we should be turning right when we neared the end of the motorway part of the trip. As Paul indicated 'left' to come off the slip road, Pat said, "No, Right" - we cant turn right off a motorway, said Paul !! The map says turn right - said PAT again !!! World war 3 nearly broke out again !! However, as we turned "Right" at the traffic lights and went under the motorway, the peace was restored !!!

Safely back at Ranee & Billy's the Euro-6 team grouped again !! Pat & Paul tucked into some of the BBQ food that had been saved and enjoyed every morsel !! Billy decided that he needed to relive another part of his naval youth again , so out came the scotch and rum !! However, there were no arguments so another few tots were dutifully scuppered !!

Time had done it's normal trick though and had rolled on into the night, but one last duty had to be performed at 23:00 (11:00 pm) here but only 10:00 in the morning in the UK. Pat & Dee had to Facetime their dad as it seemed he had been getting a little worried that he had not heard from us for a while !! The time difference makes it a little difficult to keep track, and of course there is no Wifi in the car !! The necessary duty fulfilled it was off to bed for everyone - ready for the next part of the journey - a drive down to Rotorua , which is sort of south east from Auckland !!!

But that's a story for tomorrow !!!!