Sunday, 28 February: We left Audrey with a promise to return in late March before we go home and drove to Auckland over the Kaimai mountain range. As is often the case, the road was very foggy through the mountains. Our first stop was at the Auckland Botanical Garden. Even though many of the flowers have gone by, it was a lovely walk, and the sculptures we saw in January are still there; so Joe and Mary got to see them as well. We checked in to the Waldorf Celestion Apartment Hotel in the heart of the city. Our good friends Jeannie and Marty Lorrey are staying here while visiting their granddaughter...and their son and daughter-in-law, of course. It is a very comfortable apartment, centrally located, has great amenities, and is quite reasonable for central Auckland. This evening we had a wonderful Kiwi/Israeli dinner at a restaurant called Ima. The food and company were excellent, the atmosphere unbelievably loud. There were nine of us for dinner including Dan and Valerie Cohen, the Lorreys, Joe and Mary, and Estelle Beder a friend we haven't seen since Elliot Goldman's wedding six years ago. After dinner, Buzz and I walked to the grocery store to get a few things while Joe and Mary window shopped the pricy stores along the waterfront. 

Monday, 29 February: It was raining lightly all Sunday evening. This morning it poured. Joe and Mary packed up their bags, weighed them, and took out some souvenir rocks collected along the way. In the late morning, we took the bus to the Auckland Museum. The museum is really a must see in Auckland. We spent a great deal of time in the Maori Culture section including seeing a half hour presentation of Maori traditions by a small performing group. After the presentation, the participants met with visitors in the gallery for photos and answered questions. We visited several other exhibits including the Holocaust commemoration before getting the bus back downtown. After a light lunch we went back to the hotel for the final packing. At 3:30 we sent Joe and Mary off to the Auckland airport in a taxi...the thought of driving there during the afternoon rush hour was too much. We had a wonderful month with them, and I think they feel the same. Tonight we ate with Jeannie and Marty at a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. 

Tuesday, 1 March: Drove from Auckand to Ohakune today. Marty helped Buzz navigate from the parking garage back to the hotel to load up the car. We said our goodbyes and were off. Fortunately, it was quite simple getting out of the city onto the Motorway heading south. Not too much city driving trauma. We stopped in Otorohanga to take a walk and get some lunch. There was a group of Riley car enthusiasts in town. We had never heard of this make of British car which hasn't been manufactured since the early '70s. We stopped to chat with two couples who were with the group. One of the things we really love about NZ is the friendliness of the people. Fifteen minutes later we were on our way. Got to Ohakune around 4pm, checked in to our lodging, went to the supermarket to get some stuff to cook dinner, and settled in for the evening.

Wednesday, 2 March: The drive to Feilding was uneventful. As is Buzz's pleasure, we took the narrow road from Mangaweka through Rangiwahia and Kimbolton to finish the drive.

Thursday and Friday, 3 & 4 March:  A quiet couple of days. On Thursday, I treated myself to a spa pedicure in the morning, did some laundry, and we went for a walk in the afternoon. We went to the Feilding Farmers' Market in the Square on Friday morning to buy some salmon from the fishmonger (and some Anzac biscuits from the baker). In the early afternoon, I baked challah. Salmon, garlic chickpeas with spinach, caprese salad, and pears poached in cranberry with a scoop of Kapiti vanilla ice cream made for a very nice dinner.  

Saturday, 5 March:  Did the last bits of laundry and packed our bags. We leave this afternoon to fly from Palmerston North to Auckland and tomorrow from Auckland to Norfolk Island for a week at the Governors Lodge Resort. Stay tuned.