Reluctantly surfaced to a bright, sunny day! Everyone had slept really well, woke late, & didn't have much motivation to get ready to leave. After breakfast, John asked if the children would like to help him feed the chickens, & while they were out of earshot, Olivia told us where the calf skin rugs on the floor came from! On their return, J&M put on the skins, & there was much merriment as they "moo-ed" around on the floor! Olivia then took us to meet the newest addition to their family: a 4 week old Jersey cross calf that she was hand rearing, to milk. We helped to feed runny porridge oats to the calf, who wanted to suckle any fingers, hands, wrists or anythings that were presented to her! The calf shares a small field next to the house with a 4 month old billy goat, who remains tethered due to a tendency to escape, & who will, one day (in a few months time) hopefully father kids with Olivia's older nanny goat, who at the moment lives elsewhere, as she bullies both billy & calf! The (very cute) calf is currently undergoing an identity crisis, having never seen her own reflection, or been raised with her own species. Currently, she thinks that she's part human / part goat! We were very entertained by the stories of the calf's arrest, & night spent in custody, following a successful escape attempt from the paddock, and the dog's official police caution, for causing an offence by stealing food from restaurant bins!

We finally managed to drag ourselves into the car, & left at quarter to 11, to follow SH6 north & east. We stopped at Hope Saddle, for a short walk up to the lookout, and 360˚ views of the surrounding mountains, including Mt Owen, where the post Moria scene of the Fellowship (sans Gandalf) hiding amongst the rocks was filmed. We turned off SH6 & followed Motueka Valley Road, north, through fruit & veg farms (including hops!) for ~60km, & ended up at The White Elephant (as recommended by Lauren in Oameru) in a $91 cabin, for 2 nights. Small kitchen & lounge - adequate but not welcoming - and a bit German!

Ate lunch amid the citrus trees in the back garden, then drove north, to Kaiteriteri to find the beach & kids play area that Olivia had told us about (really long zip wire ("flying fox")!). We all played on the zip wire for a while, then went to the sandy beach, where the kids played happily for 30 mins, until the sandflies started to get too irritating! A short drive, & we were exploring the caves of Split Apple Rock beach, & then Little Kaiteriteri. The kids drew on the sand with driftwood, & we all enjoyed the warmth oif the sunshine - in stark contrast to the cold of the glacier & incessant rain of the past few days.

Back to Motueka, for fishy Chinese stir fry for tea. Relaxed, read, wrote diary & uploaded blog. A quiet evening, & then to bed.