| We all landed and were buzzing all day after that - excellent!! Left Taupo for the last time and drove to Stratford again to pop in to Mel & Shane's. We stopped on the way in Wangamomona and had a drink in the hotel where we finally got our passports stamped!! Ended up staying at there's that night. 16th Nov 2005 Drove the scenic route to Waitomo Caves, but didn't arrive in time to do the rafting. Found a campsite with a fitness centre, sauna and huge 'jumping pillow' (big trampoline type thing) so we had a go on that to work up an appetite for dinner, but Terry got too confident and in attempting a somersault landed awkwardly on his ankle..... don't think it's broken!! 17th Nov 2005 Ankle and shoulder hurting this moring, pouring with rain and I didn't particularly want to do the rafting so we cancelled and drove to Raglan, but on the way I managed to reverse the car down a ditch, denting the bumper. We had to ask a passing local to pull us out - oops!! Still raining in Raglan - just watched some surfers for a while and then drove onto Auckland. Met Sarah & Bev and then drove to Ben's (a friend of Sarah) as he was putting us all up in his gorgeous house! Sat up catching up with everyone till late. 18th Nov 2005 Sarah & Ben went to work, so the three of us mooched around, doing some washing etc. Terry had accupuncture again after seeing the osteopath, then we went into the city with Bev and did some shopping before meeting Sarah after work - great office with views of the Sky Tower and the Harbour. We were all going to go sailing, but there was only room for 2, so Sarah and Terry went while Bev and I headed back to Ben's to make a roast dinner - I made great Yorkshire Puds!! 19th Nov 2005 After breakfast we drove to Devonport and caught a ferry to Waiheke Island 40 mins away. We met one of Sarah's colleagues who lives on the island and whose family own a winery. She gave us a tour of the island leading us to the winery via the employees only scenic route - basically driving through he vines - absolutely beautiful! Had a delicous meal in their restaurant and then she collected us and showed us some more of the island on the way back to the ferry. Have fallen in love with it all! Back at Ben's, more of Sarah's friends turned up for a BBQ and a game of Cranium - everyone was so friendly! 20th Nov 2005 Got up early to watch the Englnd v All Blacks and I popped back to Devonport to pick up the sky dive photos that we had developed - they're great! We then drove to Sarah's friends and all went to Muiwau Beach (where they filmed The Piano) to go horse riding for 2 hours - it was great. Rode along the beach for a while and then turned off into a forrest bit then back along a beach. My horse loves splashing in water and when we had to cross a river he stoppe in the middle and started splashing with both front legs - I was soaked! We stopped at another winery on the way back and then went to Richard and Alison's (Sarah's boss) for another BBQ! 21st Nov 2005 Dropped the car off and luckily they didn't notice the dents! Found a taxi to take us to the airport for the same pice as the bus and the driver turned out to be a nuclear scientist from Sri Lanka! Shortest of our flights - landed in Nadi (Fiji) where it was 37 degrees and a group of men playing guitars and singing greeted us. Booked our island and went to a motel overnight - very hot. Popped into the main town but it wasn't very nice so we found a restaurant by the motel. 22nd Nov 2005 Not much sleep - heat and noisy neighbours!! Minibus picked us up and drove us across the main island for 3 hours, where we caught a boat to the island. Very basic, not many people - bit like being back in the jungle! Our little hut is right on the beach with a few palm trees & hammocks in between. Weather not so good - rain shoers on and off, no sun, but still so hot - sea really warm and crystal clear too! 23rd Nov 2005 Woke up to brilliant blue skies and a cooling breeze! After breakfast we walked up and over to another beach which we had all to ourselves all day! This is Fiji!!! Sunbathed, relaxed and swam all day and then went back for a cold shower when the sun went down! Later we sat in a hammock in the dark watching the sky light up by storm in the distance - storm never reached us though! 24th Nov 2005 Terry started a 3 day diving course today and he saw loads of fish etc... every colour imaginable! I went up and over to the other beach and was on my own all day - bliss! Saw wild horses on the beach our side and giant toads gatheredaround a big tree at night - they come every night at the same time and look like they're worshipping the tree! Another storm didn't reach us - the lightening in the distance is great! 25th Nov 2005 Stayed this side on the 'resort' beach today but went right up the other end so I was on my own again. Terry was diving again - having a great time - he saw loads more including a giant turtle and a sea cucumber. Another hot day especially when the breeze disappeared and the sea was dead calm. Went up to sunset bure and just caught the fast disappearing sun. |