Weekend! And time for a family outing to the Mclarin Bach on Waiheke. Given the excesses at the vineyard, it was back to reality with a McCafe breakfast. The air was grim: the remnants of a tropical storm was passing over and the trip over on Hayley's dad's launch was ditched in favour of the car ferry. Drove to the other end of Waiheke, down a dirt track to the beach house on a remote beach. A truly beautiful spot. We were welcomed in by Arnold and Janet and cof...

Waiheke… I was intending to get up at 630 and admire the sunrise over Auckland. Stirred at 755, but fortunately the girls had captured it on their camera. Hayley had planned a full day of Auckland sights and lunch in Waihehe island. Drove into the CBD, girls in the front. I was in the back catching up with the big news from home with a copy of OK magazine. First port of call was…the port. Seafood market to be precise. Inspected a tank full of eels a...

Final straight: Auckland Said Kia Ora to the lake and headed a 2 km down the road to Hells Gate thermal complex, which, conveniently, had a spa. Checked in for a couple of aromatherapy relaxation massages.Lovely young Korean lady administered my treatment: thoroughly enjoyable, if a little invasive around the boxer short department. Judging by the snores being emitted from the bench next door, Annelise's masseuse was hitting the spot. Recovered, and wander...

Bubbling mud, kayak and haka Awoke and admired the view from bed: lake and giant ferns…..We headed for town to collect tickets for the Te Puia show later on. Stopped in at internet café to upload the blog and wandered round the CBD. Had car-nic by the lake. Baking sun and decided to head back and check out the mud-pool spa near home. Back home, A-lo had a snooze whilst I prepared the afternoon activity: a kayak trip to a thermal pool. Graham had told us abo...

Finally, the weather was good enough to do the walk…..Awoke to see the sun rise over the eastern shores of the lake. Annelise dropped me off at the bus stop, encouraging me to make some friends…… ahead was an 18.5km walk taking in some spectacular volcanic scenery at altitude of 2000m. Arriving at base camp in a convoy of buses I realized that I wasn't going to be sharing the experience with a few other intrepid folks. The track ascended through grass and s...