Hi again

The end is nigh and we only have 2 more nights in NZ. The long awaited rain that the country so badly needs has arrived care of tropical cyclone Oma and the winds are building as I type. A king tide is forecast in Auckland and storm force wind and rain will begin later today. We are actually at the beach today but it is windy. I took a kayak out earlier which was a bit of a thrill in these waves! Tomorrow will have us relaxing inside for our final day.

Anyway, to backtrack a little. Before we left Nelson we had a beautiful day walking in the Abel Tasman. The sun shone, the sky and water were of a colour that photos cannot really convey and we just loved it.

We bid farewell to Nelson and flew up to Napier where we had planned to visit the gannet colonies of Cape Kidnappers via the beach route. Sadly, the cliffs had suffered a massive collapse recently and the beach was closed. Two tourists were lucky to escape with their lives as they were swept into the sea. One is out of hospital but one remains with a fractured pelvis. Still, we were able to visit the colonies by a long overland route and it was well worth it. Even Paul thought the sight was incredible as thousands of birds could be seen raising their chicks ready for the long flight to Australia which will begin in March. It was just a brilliant trip.

We also went up Te Mata Peak for some breathtaking views across the whole bay and beyond. Our Airbnb was in North Havelock and was a lovely little house in a very pretty small town. So far, so amazing BUT we had no idea we had booked to be in the area for the annual Napier Art Deco Festival and this proved one of the highlights of the trip. The whole town is beautifully restored following a devastating earthquake in 1931. This weekend it was full of cars, steam engines, planes, jazz bands, shows, people in costumes and everything art deco. It was such an amazing experience to be caught up in and we had a slight Andy Murray moment. Was this really the last time we would visit NZ? We had discovered a whole new area that may be our favourite and we only had 2 days! Could we think again and maybe manage to get back? Hmmmm.

The sun up here in the north is much stronger than we have encountered and we found ourselves burning after less than an hour despite Cancer Society factor 50 cream. Scary. We couldn't understand people on holiday with tiny babies who had them out in the sun without top to toe cover. Crazy.

All too soon we were back at Napier airport bound for Auckland and futher on to Northland. We collected a car and drove all the way up to Kerikeri which is the 'commercial' capital of Bay of islands. En route we took in the incredible Hundertwasser toilets in the unremarkable town of Kawakawa. The loos were stunning but the town was a picture of deprivation that we hadn't really seen elsewhere in NZ. The town slogan was 'Let's make Kawakawa spice free'. It was just a sad and disturbing place to walk around and, because we could, we moved swiftly on but the feeling sticks with us now.

Kerikeri was a buzzy little place and we checked into yet another Airbnb, a small converted garage on a little olive farm ideally situated near the airport for our trip the following day. The next day was, thankfully, bright and calm. In the morning we visited the Waitangi Treaty Grounds near Paihia and did a guided tour, saw a show and looked around the museum. It was very interesting. We pitched up at the airport at one o'clock and took off in our small fixed wing plane. It was a bumpy ride up 90 mile beach to a tiny grass air strip about 20 minutes drive from Cape Reinga, the absolute top of the country. The flight company keep a minibus there and we transferred across. Paul suffered a bit of motion sickness from the flight but managed to hold it all together and was rewarded with magnificent views of where the Tasman and Pacific meet in a clash of waves. Then we went to a nearby beach for afternoon tea and cake. Paul managed that depite the slight queesiness ;) Then we drove down a public road which was a river bed! It even had a sign that said, 'Caution, oncoming traffic in the middle of the road'. Finally we reached these amazing, monster sand dunes where we did some dune surfing on body boards. Oh, gosh, it was thrilling but so hard to climb back up each time. Of the 7 of us on the trip only a yound girl and us actually did the boarding. It was a big highglight. We flew back over the Bay of Islands and had a really clear view of it all. The 23 year old pilot/driver seemed content with his job!

Then yesterday we drove the coast road to the hotel we have chosen for the last 3 nights to get away from all the cooking, shopping, washing of nearly 3 weeks of Airbnbs. It's just lovely and even the impending storm cannot spoil it for us. Last night we went down to sit round the firepit for a pre dinner drink only to find Paul Simon there with his wife and a couple of friends. He was delightful, chatty and unassuming. The measure of a true celebrity must surely be the ability to chat to a strange old lady about the mating habits of alpacas!!! As I type I am sat in the chair he used yesterday down at the little hotel beach house. If you book it you have it to yourselves all day and so, here we sit, looking out across the bay, drink in hand and Paul (Simon, very obviously) playing on the Bose sound system (sadly, not in person)! It's been a ball and we're ready to head home if the storm will allow flights in and out. We miss the family and look forward to staying in one place for more than a few nights.

So, the Andy Murray moment? We think not. It's done.......