We had an amazing breakfast at the lodge cooked by Barb, the chef. We very much enjoyed a medley of poached fruits, muesli and yogurt followed by delicious corncakes which are apparently a New Zealand specialty but we had never tasted before!

As our trip was nearing the end, we drove into nearby Warkworth looking for souvenir or gift shops. If they are there then we obviously looked in the wrong place! We scoured Warkworth from end to end and can only say that it appears to have the largest concentration of take-away food shops that we have seen in the whole of New Zealand! However, the sun was shining, spring was on the way and we found the river and lots of interesting boats plus a large number of gulls and very vocal ducks!

Back in Matakana Village we found a couple of shops to suit our needs and then our friends, Mike and Gay, arrived with canine Wendy. Unfortunately she had a sore paw and was looking rather dejected and not her usual licky, boundy self at all. (Is that a good or a bad thing?!!) We had a bit of a wander and then went to the Black Dog to get some lunch. This is a little cafe on the main street where all the locals eat, or at least that's what it says in all the guide books! Then it was on to visit the famous Morris and James pottery where we admired their distinctive style before heading back to our lodge for a cup of tea in the sun.

Alone once more we took a drive round some of the lovely beaches and bays in the area and there are quite a large number of them!! Omaha beach is long and windswept with a fantastic golf course by the side whilst Leigh wharf has a lovely little jetty where the fishing boats come in. We saw many others on our drive, far too numerous to mention, all pretty and well worth exploring for anyone who has the time to spare.

Back at Takatu Lodge we had booked a wine tasting with John, our host, as we wanted to try some wines produced by the vineyard on which we were staying. He poured us each a very nice glass of Takatu Pinot Gris, offered some snacks and then spent an hour chatting! It seems Matakana wine tastings are different from those we have experienced in other parts of New Zealand!!

We went down into Matakana Village and Nicky in The Vintry recommended a glass of Pretty in Pink rose from the Mahurangi River Estate as an appetiser before our meal. We ate downstairs in the very busy Matakana Village Kitchen (open tonight we are pleased to say!)