19 December: Monday. Life is good when all you have to do in the morning is sit outside with a bowl of muesli and yogurt and watch the tide roll in! Our cabin at the Sandspit Holiday Park is about 30 feet from the water's edge. We relaxed until it was time to drive the five minutes to the pier to meet Dan and Valerie for our cruise. The boat goes to several piers and bays along the Kawau Island coast delivering mail and supplies to residents and businesses on the island. We were served a delicious lunch of Salad and Barbecued Salmon with a glass of wine before we disembarked at Mansion House Bay. The Mansion House, once the home of Governor George Grey as well as serving as a hotel and other incarnations, is now an historic building, open to the public. We toured the building, took a walk up to a lookout, and returned to the Mansion House grounds for a cup of coffee while we waited for the water taxi to bring us back to the mainland. While on our walk, we saw two Keruru (NZ Wood Pigeon) a family of Wekas (flightless NZ birds) with baby chicks, two wallabies, a peacock and several pea hens. The Wallabies were introduced as exotics by Governor Grey in the 1870s and have thrived. Most of the exotics Gov. Gray introduced failed to thrive, but the Wallabies adapted well. They are a threat to the Island ecosystem, and the New Zealand Dept of Conservation (DOC) is working with its counterpart in Australia to repatriate the wallabies to Australia. After the cruise, we drove back to the Cohen's home in Auckland and settled in for the evening.

20 December: Tuesday. We relaxed in the morning, had an al fresco lunch on the deck, and went to the Auckland Zoo for a few hours in the afternoon. We haven't been to the Auckland since we lived here in the early 1970s. It has changed greatly and is an excellent zoo with well thought out enclosures for the animals. We heard talks by zoo staff about Spider Monkeys and Galapagos Tortoises and watched the elephants enjoy a shower. In the evening we met Jeannie and Marty at Ema, an Israeli style restaurant in the city not far from the apartment where the Lorreys are staying. We had a delicious meal and good conversation.

21 December: Wednesday. Another "see you next time" as we left Dan and Valerie to begin our drive to Tauranga. As we drove off, we reflected on our good fortune to have these wonderful friends. The drive was uneventful although there was quite a bit of traffic. We stopped in Paeroa to get some groceries for our picnic lunch and to have a look in the antique shops. The Temuka pottery dishes we use everyday at home are more collectible than ever, and the prices reflect the desirability. Good thing I am not in the market to buy any more! We stopped at Karanghake Gorge, one of our favorite spots along the drive, for our picnic lunch. We shared our bounty with the sparrows and enjoyed the peaceful surrounding. Another warm welcome greeted us when we arrived at Orange Grove Village, the home of our dear friend Audrey Bowyer. We did a bit of catching up, unpacked, and I did laundry because there is rain predicted for tomorrow. We had dinner and a relaxing evening.

22 December: Thursday. Just a quiet day with some shopping to get ready for sharing the holidays. The grocery stores are, as at home, packed with people who evidently believe they will not be able to buy anything for the foreseeable future once the stores close on Saturday for Christmas. In the evening we watched the Edinburgh Military Tattoo televised from Melbourne, Australia. We had seen it live in Wellington last January, and it is just as magical on television. The precision marching, dancing, bagpipes, and more are quite a spectacle.

23 December: Friday. I had trouble falling asleep last night, and, just as I was drifting off, a ping of my cell phone brought me fully awake. Heather and Kate were having a WhatsApp conversation. I chastised them for waking me...they though it was funny. I shut down my phone, but it was almost 4 am before I fell asleep. This afternoon we went to visit Audrey's friend Margie for afternoon tea, made a quick stop at the supermarket for forgotten items and home for the evening.

24 December: Saturday. A day of holiday preparation. Buzz helped Audrey in the garden, and then we got down to the serious business of cooking for Chanukah and Christmas. I made potato latkes and Israeli salad for tonight's dinner. We made lamb roast and stuffed chicken roast for the community pot luck Christmas lunch tomorrow, and Audrey made a chocolate sponge cake log filled with whipped cream and berries that we will bring for dessert. Between cooking events, we read our books. In the evening, Ed Collins joined us for dinner. Ed is Audrey's next door neighbor and generously shares his internet access with us. We use Facetime with him when we are at home so we can chat with him and Audrey. I explained a bit about the celebration of Chanukah, lit the chanukiah, and sang the blessings. We had a nice evening reminiscing about the days when we all first came to NZ. Audrey came from Australia in 1952, Ed came from England in 1970, and we came in 1971. Each of us has stories of adapting to life here. Buzz and I are quite enjoying relaxing just helping with everyday living. Audrey commented that she is happy having a cook and a gardner living in, Buzz said the pay isn't good, but he does get to sleep with the cook!

25 December: Sunday. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all who are celebrating. We hope your holidays are joyous and meaningful. We had a lazy morning and then went to the community room of the village for a potluck luncheon. The main dishes were excellent, but the desserts were the stars of the day. Pavlova, cheesecake, brandy snaps, apple crumble, and more! We enjoyed meeting and talking with Audrey's neighbors. Some of them gave us suggestions of places to visit we haven't seen before. Audrey gave us a magazine with some tips on places to see; so we will be plotting new adventures. Two candles tonight, and tomorrow we head south to Ohope Beach and a reunion with Cathy and Max Black.