Went sailing today on a 65 ft sailing yacht. Wow! Am now inspired to do a sailing course. IA - get ready to teach me the tricks. As women make better drivers - the owner of the yacht put me in charge of the wheel for about an hour. Felt very much like I was driving a large London bus. Saw a penguin floating along on his own (billy no mates), mutton birds, stingrays, dolphins and various fish. Went kayaking, snorkelling, took a bush walk, etc. Such a fun fill...

We are currently in the North of the North Island - Bay of Islands. We rented a 'wreck' this morning in Auckland - "she's not a new vehicle, but she's cheap". Took the scenic route - stopped for lunch in Whangerei, then drove via the Tutukaka coast. Oh .. so much fun attempting to pronounce the Maori names of places! The drive up here was absolutely breathtaking from just 1 hour outside the city and onwards. We invested in some top quality binoculars (obviousl...