Last of the New Zealand photos

Our last few days were spent on the West coast, first in Waitomo to visit the glowworm caves.









In one of the caves we saw the 1000 year old bones of a Moa, an extinct New Zealand bird.



Tomos are holes in the ceilings of caves, leading up to daylight.
Sometimes cows fall through them.



We stopped off at a waterfall on the way to Raglan.




Raglan is a very laid-back surfer town.








On the way out of town we stopped off at the Bridal Veil Falls, 55m high.




Our final stop was Auckland, where we stayed with my cousin Laura in a pretty suburban house.

We cruised Auckland Harbour on a replica of an old ship, passing under Auckland Bridge, nicknamed the "Nippon Clip-On" because of the extra lanes built on to each side of it by Japanese engineers.




Auckland's Sky Tower is impressive, although you would never get me jumping off it from 192 metres up!




Nice views though.








Yes, that deserves a drink.

More New Zealand pics

Moving South, we arrived at Tauranga, where my grandmother lives, for a 3-night stay.

We visited my grandmother in hospital where she was recovering from a hip injury. She is 92 years old and still in very good shape. She recognised me straight away, even though she hadn't seen me for some 18 years!

We stayed at her house and enjoyed some nice meals on "The Strand", before braving the elements and climbing Mount Maunganui.



The view from the top, on a particularly cloudy and rainy day:



Mount Maunganui, seen from Nana's house:




After that, we spent a night in Rotorua, the Geothermal Valley of New Zealand. We visited Whakarewarewa, where we also participated in a cultural Maori evening.



Bart got on stage to perform the Haka.




The next day we went to Wai-O-Tapu, a huge and beautiful Geothermal area.














We stopped off at the Huka Falls on our way to Napier:






In Napier, an Art Deco city completely rebuilt in the 30's, we visited the Aquarium.














Bart on the beach at Napier:

New Zealand - Bay of Islands and Northland

Our trip to New Zealand started off with 10 days of relaxing at mum's in the Bay of Islands.

Mum and Stewart's beautiful house (and garden).







Our first day trip was to Kerikeri's Stone Store, Mission House and reconstructed Maori village.






We also went for a walk at Opito Bay




These are some views of Russell, where Mum and Stewart live. Russell has the first church of New Zealand.










Mum works at the Pompallier Mission House, giving wonderful guided tours. We were really impressed with her hour and a half explanation on tanning, printing and book binding. This is her at work.




Kumera chips and sour cream on the deck of Russell Radio after the Gallery opening.




A day on the yacht. We caught 3 fish and fried them up for lunch.








Ahipara Beach was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.



Lunch with a view.




90 Mile Beach was just around the corner.








A day out wine tasting with mum.