6 February : Monday. We took a drive to Pahiatua today to bring Margaret to meet her partner, John at his daughter's home. On the way back to Feilding we stopped at the greengrocer in Woodville. I bought a Basil plant. We'll see if this one survives whatever ate the last ones I planted.

7 February : Tuesday. We packed up the car and left Feilding on this gray, damp morning heading for Tauranga. We'll spend a couple of days with Audrey and meet up with Frank and Kay Tucker who are visiting from Australia. The weather improved steadily as we went along. Lunchtime found us in Taupo, and we stopped to have a picnic beside the lake. There is excellent free parking along the road and nice clean picnic tables as well. It was such a pleasure to sit in the sun. We arrived to a very hot, humid afternoon in Tauranga but found respite in the shade of Audrey's patio and a glass of ice water. As many times as we have driven this route, we never tire of the scenery. Even the Rangipo Desert around the Tongariro National Park is interesting for its contrast to the rest of the country.

8 February: Wednesday. Audrey's hairdresser comes to the house; so I availed myself of her services and got my hair cut. We picked up some sushi for lunch and then headed for Waihi Beach. It is about an hour's drive. We had hoped to be able to visit with Audrey's cousins, but they were away. We'll see them another time. I was on a mission to buy something specific and found it in a small Waihi Beach shop.

9 February: Thursday. After a quiet morning and a sushi lunch, Buzz and I drove to McLaren Falls Park about 15km from here. We walked along the Waterfall Bush track and up to a lookout. The lookout track was a bit steep but worth the effort for the view at the top. Frank and Kay Tucker arrived in Tauranga this afternoon as we were starting our walk. Kay reached my on my mobile phone to let me know they arrived. When I told Kay where we were, she told me they had just been at McLaren a short while ago! We stopped for some groceries on the way back, and the Tuckers joined us for dinner at Audrey's. It was a lovely evening, and we have plans to explore the TePuna Quarry Park tomorrow.

10 February: Friday. This morning we started our day with a drive the the Minden Road Lookout which give a superb view of the Bay of Plenty. From there we continued a short way to the TePuna Quarry Park. This park was an abandoned quarry about thirty years ago and has been transformed into a marvelous passive recreation park through the hard work of a number of volunteer individuals and groups. On the road again to Omokoroa where we had lunch at the Boat Club overlooking the harbor. We had the opportunity to see the small ferry that goes from Omokoroa to Matakana Island (carrying about three cars) arrive and depart. Back in the car and on to Waihi Beach for a good long walk on the beach. Back in Tuaranga we had a bit of a rest in the late afternoon and went out for a delicious dinner at the Thai Palace in Pyes Pa.

11 February: Saturday. This morning we drove to meet Frank and Kay at Mount Maunganui (hereafter known as The Mount) to take the walk around the track at the base of The Mount. It was poor timing. There was a half marathon going on, and thousands of tourists. We drove around for quite a while until we found a parking spot. The walk, however, was excellent with stunning views of the sea. The last time I was on the track was in 2003 when our daughter, Laura, and I were here for a holiday. We went home for the late afternoon and a quiet evening with Audrey. Tomorrow we head for Napier.

12 February: Sunday. We said "see you in March" to Audrey and headed toward Taupo to meet Frank and Kay at the Aratiatia Rapids. We stopped at the first supermarket we saw in Rotorua to pick up food for a picnic lunch. As we were walking in, Frank and Kay were walking out! It didn't really surprise us because it is part of the story of how we became friends in 2012 when we met first on tour to Doubtful Sound on the south Island and then kept meeting along the route north along the west coast. When we arrived at the rapids we found there would be no opening of the floodgates. Unfortunately, a young woman drowned int he rapids last week, and the opening of the floodgates has been put on hold until further notice. We took the opportunity to walk the track to a viewpoint. On to Taupo for a picnic lakeside and then to Napier. We checked into our motel, had a short rest and went into the city to have a walk along the Marine Parade and look at the famous Art Deco architecture. A delicious prime rib dinner at the Hog's Breath cafe was a perfect end to a long day.

13 February: Monday. I am including the beginning of the next week here because it fits! We drove to TeAwanga this morning to take a tour to the Cape Kidnappers Gannet Sanctuary. I booked it and thought we were going on the 9:30am tour...wrong. We were booked in for 1:30; so we regrouped and drove to Havelock North and up to TeMata Peak. The views are spectacular, the wind was so fierce we had to hold on to each other to stay upright. On to Hastings for a look around the town and a stop at the main "office" of the Rush Munro ice cream company. I had boysenberry...delicious. Back to TeAwanga for the tour. We had done this tour a few years ago, but it was just as interesting the second time. It was particularly interesting to see the baby gannets at this intermediate stage of development since we had seen the new hatchlings at the Muriwai colony in December. Back to our accommodation in Napier for an al fresco dinner on our patio with the Tuckers. Tomorrow they head north, and we return to Feilding. It has been a wonderful reunion.