Saturday 4th Feb- 90 Mile Beach. We went on a bus trip to the very north of New Zealand. It was a full 12 hour day, with a stop at a Gumdigger (Amber) exibition. This gum seaped from the Kauri trees about 100,000 years ago and was in great demand 150 years ago. Conditions were certainly primitive for the diggers. Our main stop was a Cape Reigna, the northern most point of the island. This area has great significance for Maoris who believe that the spirits of ...

Friday 3rd February. Arrived at Cooks Lookout Motel in Paihia late on Thursday. Very nice Motel and very welcoming hosts. We have a lovley view from our studio and patio. We have been out on a boat trip this morning around the Bay of Islands and have seen a pod of Orca ( Killer Whales). No dolphins around but that may be no great surprise!. The area gets its name from Captain Cook- very original- there are many islands. The sea was a bit "sloppy" acco...

Tuesdat 31st Jan/Wednesday 1st Feb. A whole night and day of traveling. Picked up the car at the airport and fought our way through the rush hour traffic to get to our hotel. Very nice and it has a bar on site!!. Off to the Bay of Islands in the morning.

HI everyone Technology is getting the better of us at the moment so we don't have any photos uploaded yet. Anyway we have just finished our 3 days in Singapore and we are at the airport waiting to fly to Auckland. Singapore was a great experience- a real mix of the old and new with many cultures living quite happilty together. Singapore is doing very nicely, with full employment and a very good standard of living. It is a shopper's paradise with Designer store...