Bridge the Travel Gap

‘It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.’ – Aristotle

This week we caught up with our Kiwi family, as we split our time between John’s brother and niece’s homes.

Howick Village House

We started out with a place called: Howick Village – it’s an historic village of ‘how things’ were in New Zealand, mainly from the mid-1800’s onwards. That same day, we headed off to a memorial to Savage – a Prime Minister who, we believe, brought social reforms to New Zealand, but the park lacked any confirmation of this. (I’ve since looked into it and it is true, it is meant to be a memorial to this very philanthropic Prime Minister).

Michael Joseph Savage Memorial Gardens

Also, the same day, we went up to the top of Mt Eden which has, what I believe, are the best views of the city.

Mt Eden

The next day, we headed out to Hunua Falls – a beautiful location. Strangely, on the day we were there, they were surveying the pond below the falls, as the water is very murky and full of rocks that dead bodies get trapped under, when people jump from the top!

Hunua Falls

Then we were off to a New Zealand hobby farm, to see how it works and visit all the cute piglets.

Piglets!

After that, it was off to black sands beach– beautiful!

Black Sands Beach

Our last day with our niece, her partner and our nephew, we went for a walk up Rangitoto which is a dormant volcanic island near downtown Auckland.

Rangitoto Island

Next day, we went to the bird island of Tiritiri, where they have managed to clear any species which are not indigenous. We stayed the night here, so we could see the night birds – Kiwi and hear the dawn chorus of birds.  I love the sound of bird song, anytime of day, do you have any that you like best?  Would love to know, so I can check them out on the internet.

Saddleback

Our week ended with dinner at a friends

Nigel and Sue’s

and seeing Pokeno Market. It’s been a jam-packed time!

Pokeno Market

Debx