Thursday last and the rains were back! The Auckland site wasn't encouraging us to stay so we headed north towards the Bay of Islands and got as far as Whangarei which had a lovely harbour and pleasant feel about it. The falls were quite pretty, the following morning, as we left to travel on up to "The Bay" and the journey was full of twists and turns as we slowly threaded our way up the coast. The photos won't do it justice but arriving in Russell was quite special. We immediately booked a tour of the bay by boat the following day before going up hill (to Flagstaff) and then down into town. The expletives as we climbed are not to be repeated but the view from Flagstaff Hill was quite spectacular. The walk down into town was easier and the waterfront very picturesque. Russell has the first church in New Zealand as well as the earliest commercial building (a printing press) still standing. The Flagstaff Hill is important because on the hill the British FOUR TIMES raised their flag there and four times the Maoris cut it down, flagpole and all! Then, in 1845, HMS Hazard was sent here to quell the uprising, during which several men, including the commander were lost. Our lasting memory of New Zealand will probably be of a nation which fought to find itself but within which settlers and Maori live in closer harmony than in other countries where the first people to be in the country did not end up being the owners or "winners". We shall be standing on the very land that the treaty between Maori and English was signed in a couple of day's time, so expect more comment on that! We had booked the "Fuller's Cream Trip" around The Bay for Saturday and very fortuitous it was too. The only time it rained was when we were having lunch and we were able to explore all the best bits of it. The Fuller boats have supplied the various sheep stations and outposts around the bay for over 100 years and the name "Cream Trip" comes from days when they would collect the cream from island farmers and take it to the mainland. All we did today was deliver mail and supplies. At just about every stop there were people and dogs waiting for us - the dogs all expected (and got!) a tit-bit from Donna, the skipper's mate on this boat. The boat's visit seemed to be an important highlight of a day which seemed very free from stress! We called into the biggest island for lunch, Urupukapuka, and the heavens opened but they gave back the sun for our visit out to Piercy Island which marked the easterly end of the bay and contained the "Hole in the Rock". It seems that everyone wants to go through it and we were lucky, the tide, wind and swell were right, so skipper Andrew took us through...twice. Then, in usual tradition, a cream tea was served on the way home. A great day and one of our New Zealand high spots. That night it rained so we stayed in with wine, cheese and biscuits and played cards! North then, on Sunday, through Kerikeri to Whatuwhiwhi - these Maori names get worse, don't they? The latter is actually pronounced "Fatufifi"! There is no "f" in the Maori alphabet! If a word appears to be a smaller word written twice it's the Maori way of making something plural. It's no surprise to close family that we must make mention of the toilets in Kawakawa, designed by one Friedrich Hundertwasser (yes, really!) in 1997. They're stunning and it's quite OK for men and women to view each others'! A few photos were taken and there's no doubting the influence of Anton Gaudi (Barcelona) on his work. The heavens opened AGAIN once we'd camped...so another night in! We're booked for an early start on a "cruise" up the Ninety Mile Beach in the morning, so early to bed too! That wasn't much fun, we had a night like in Franz Josef (remember?) with severe gusts of wind (outside the van!) and thunderous rain on the roof of the van. Somehow the Monday morning turned out OK and out trip up to Cape Reinga was both entertaining and informative. We started at the Ancient Kauri Kingdom (a woodworking concern making the most beautiful things out of Kauri trees dragged out of a swamp; they have been carbon-dated at over 45,000 years old. Check out the photos of a settee and a whole staircase with stairs INSIDE the tree. The bus then took us to a Gumdiggers Museum where the old process of digging for Kauri Gum was explained to us. Did you know that amber, the semi-precious stone, is really fossilised Kauri Gum? Then on to the Cape and what a spectacle, where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean it was possible to watch the two mighty currents battle for supremacy. After that we had a snack lunch and then the four wheel drive of the coach was exploited as we careered down a river bed to the sea, stopping only for Jill (Mum, Grandma - YES, GRANDMA!!) to go sand tobogganing on one of the giant sand dunes which made the Sahara seem very close! The photos tell the story, then on to the Ninety-mile Beach...which is actually only 64 miles long! We raced along the beach, just above the tide line, needing to beat the tide to the other end and stopping only to take photos of a Mercedes that didn't heed the warnings about 5 months ago - the sea is already claiming it as its latest prize. We got back to Ancient Kingdom of the Kauri, jumped in the van and headed south for Whangarei for an overnight stop of rain and LOW temperature. Tuesday brought sun and a further drive south via the Kauri Museum in Matahoke. This little town was a jewel in New Zealand's crown. The whole history of the early pioneering days was stored in this fascinating building and we could have spent days there. The few photos do it scant justice but if we failed in one aspect of our visit it is in not paying proper respect tot eh giant of all trees, the mighty Kauri. Their ability to grow to a diameter of 7-metres over 1200 years makes the Oak very small in comparison and the Kauri Coast (as a large length of the West Coast of the North Island is called) is the only part of NZ which we have failed to travel along, having cut inland to speed back to Auckland. We now have today (Wednesday 17th) and tomorrow there before flying to Sydney on Friday........and yes, we'll be getting closer to home! Today we're meeting one of Richard's work colleagues here, for lunch and tonight Christine Gildea (but Elliott to our family and friends in Somerset before she emigrated and married - or vice versa!) will host our van on her drive while we spend a few hours with her family. An exhausting postcard to read, sorry - also to write! Sorry you've had to wait so long for more photos! Next time we write it'll be from Oz (assuming they let us back in!) in Sydney where we look forward to some quality time with Tony and Amanda (and their two lovely daughters) before moving on to Perth. If you're still following this mammoth trip thanks for your love, concern and/or interest - it means a lot to us. Lots of love to everyone from R & J xx