Day 18 - Tuesday 30th September

Today was another early start and it was still dark when the alarm went off. We had our bags out for collection at 6:45am and went down for breakfast. The coach left Franz Josef at 7:45am.

We stopped for a morning tea break at the Salmon Farm. Outside the cafe and gift shop, they have several large tanks where they raise salmon.

Soon after, we stopped at Knights Point Lookout which has a spectacular view of the coastline of the Tasman Sea. Since it was such a bright sunny day, the sea was a beautiful colour.

Next stop was on the Haast River because we were going to travel up the river on jet boats. The bus dropped us at the bottom and then drove to the pickup point further up the river. The jet boats have a capacity of about 15 people and so we needed two boats to fit us all in.

Suzy and I managed to get the front seats in the first boat next to the driver and so I had an excellent position for taking photos. We all had to wear life jackets. Because the boat is enclosed with glass windows, the driver told us to take off our thick jackets because we would overheat.

It was a fun trip that lasted about an hour.The boat skims along the surface of the river as the driver manouevers it along the course of the river. He stopped several times for photo opportunities. At the last stop, he pulled up at the river bank so we could get off and take more photos.

When we got back on board, gave us the finale - namely, several 360 degree spins. We were back on dry land soon after midday to continue the rest of the journey on the APT coach.

We stopped for lunch at Makarora Country Cafe. It is located on a straight stretch of road with snow-capped mountains on either side of the valley. The cafe has lots of character because of special decorations such as car registration plates, national flags and sheep cartoons in the toilet areas.

Soon we found ourselves driving along side Lake Wanake. It was a beautiful blue colour and there were snow-capped mountains on the other side of the lake. Like so many of the lakes in the South Island, it is a very large lake. Apparently one of the islands in the lake has its own lake that is big enough to land a flying boat.

In the North Island, we had often commented how beautiful the scenery was. People would say to wait until we saw the South Island - they said it would be even better - and they were right. Everywhere you look, the scenery is beautiful. Every time you look up, it was another beautiful view. After a while, we were getting overdosed on the beautiful scenery.

Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we left Lake Wanaka and we went over the rise and saw Lake Hawea. The bus stopped at a roadside lookout so we could get out to photograph the beautiful scene below us.

We reached the Novotel Lakeside Hotel at about 4:30pm. We only had a short time to get ready for our dinner outing at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, we were the last in the group to get our keys and I rushed up to the room.

Suzy had gone to the reception to tell them about her Advantage Plus card that gives her special privileges for Novotel and other similar hotels. I'd started unpacking when I got a call from reception saying they'd upgraded us to another room and so I had to gather everything up and head back down to reception to start again.

The evening outing was a cruise to Walter High Country Farm. The ship was a genuine steam ship - it had a boiler room down below and men were shovelling coal into the furnace to drive the engines.

After about 30 minutes, we tied up at a wharf on the side of the lake and walked through the nice gardens to a large spawling old-style mansion where we sat down to a sumptuous buffet dinner.

After dinner, we were ushered us outside where we saw a fascinating demonstration of a dog rounding up sheep followed by a demonstration of sheep shearing.

On the steamer heading back to Queenstown, there was a singalong led by the piano player. We were back at Queenstown at about 10pm.

It had been yet another great day.

Day 17 - Monday 29th September

It was another early start to the day - bags outside the door at 6:30am, breakfast at 6:30am and departure at 7:30am. According to the weather sites, it was zero degrees outside.

Today we would be travelling from Christchurch to Franz Josef Glacier. The first part of the trip would be by train and then we would travel the remainder of the journey on our bus.

The bus took us to the railway station. It was a modern railway station and a modern KiwiRail train was waiting there for us. Karen organised the tickets and showed us onto one of the carriages.

Our tour group had the carriage all to ourselves and so we able to spread out and make ourselves comfortable. The train departed on time at 8:15am.

It was a beautiful sunny day and were able to enjoy the scenery along the way with snow-capped mountains in the distance.

The reflections in the windows made it hard for photos. The solution was to go to the observation carriage which was a separate carriage with no seats and no windows.

It was cold and windy taking photos from the observation carriage but it was worth it to get better photos.

We stopped and got out at Springfield station to enable us to take photos. Unfortunately I got back in the wrong carriage. This caused problems because the train was in two parts with a locked section between the two. A member of the train staff had to escort me through the locked area back to the correct carriage.

Throughout the trip, there were plenty of opportunities to take more photos of the scenery as we passed by snow-capped mountains, rivers and blue waters, bridges and tunnels.

We got off the train at Arthur's Pass station at 10:35am. Malcolm was waiting there with the bus. Arthur's Pass is a low point in the mountain range that allows you to avoid having to travel all the way around the mountain range to get to the other side.

The bus took us on the windy road down to coast. In front of us was the Tasman Sea. Soon after, we saw our first glimpse of Mt Cook. It was a fine sunny day and Malcolm, the coach driver, said it was the best view of Mt Cook he could remember.

We stopped for lunch at Hokitika. Before lunch, we went to the jade factory where we listened to a talk about mining jade and creating jewelry and other goods with jade. We had lunch at Cafe 39. After lunch, I went for a short walk to get some much needed exercise.

We reached Franz Josef at about 3:30pm. Our itinerary had shown a particular hotel but Karen announced that we had been upgraded to the Te Waonui Forest Retreat. This hotel is on the outskirts of this small town and is built within a bushland setting. Apart from hotel staff, a Maori warrior greeted us at the hotel entrance.

We had a nice room with two double beds.

Several companies offer helicopter rides at Franz Josef. I'd booked to do a 40 minute helicopter ride that covered both the Franz Josef glacier and the Fox glacier. It would go close to various mountains including Mt Cook. Suzy had decided not to go because of the cost.

Our group went to the booking office at about 4pm.  They told us we weren't allowed to take any bags onto the helicopter - just a camera - and so we left other things in a big plastic tub in the office.

After we listened to the safety information, someone escorted us across the road and into the helicopter take-off area.

There were five of us assigned to a particular helicopter - two couples plus me. Being the odd one out, I got to sit in the front seat next to the pilot - an ideal position to take photos. As you meet suspect, I took heaps of photos.

We landed on one of the glaciers for about 10 minutes - another great photo opportunity, The pilot also took photos of each of us with the helicopter in the background.

It was hard work walking on the glacier because your feet would sink into the snow about 30cm with almost every step.

The return trip to the base was complicated by cloud that had rolled in. When we approached the first cloud-filled valley, the pilot explained that his helicopter was not equipped with suitable instrumentation to fly through cloud and that, if we tried, we would probably become disoriented and crash.

When we got to the next valley, it too was covered in cloud. Luckily the third valley has OK and we managed to land safely.

Before dinner, we had drinks with Peter and Yolanda. Dinner was on the level 1 restaurant at 6:45pm. It consisted of a three-course meal off a menu.

The service was excellent. Many of the staff seemed to be trainees from overseas including Japan and Brasil.

It had been a long tiring day but we'd had great experiences - especially train and helicopter. We'd been lucky with the weather.

Day 16 - Sunday 28th September

This morning was the start for daylight saving in New Zealand - a week before Sydney - and so the time difference now between New Zealand and Sydney was now three hours instead of two.

It had been raining overnight. The schedule for this morning was bags at 7am and departure at 8:10am. We would be catching the Inter Island Ferry from the North Island to the South Island.

It was only a short drive to waterfront. Malcolm dropped us off and we waited in the terminal while he drove the bus onto the lower deck on the ferry.

Boarding was scheduled for 8:30am. Pedestrian entry was at level 7 and we went to the lounge area on level 8. The ferry departed at 9:30am for the 3 hour trip across the Cook Strait. Because of the showers and wind, it was predicted to be a fairly rough journey but it turned out to be OK.

Apart from the scenery, entertainment on board was provided by numerous TV screens. Most of the locals were watching a rugby match and cheered loudly whenever New Zealand scored a try. There was a cafe and bar on board. So I ordered lunch to keep me going.

The journey takes you up a harbour on the South Island to Picton. There were some minor delays in docking at Picton. Initially they told us to get ready to disembark but after waiting a while near the exit, they told us to go back and sit down.

Eventually, they sorted out the problems and we went down to level 3 to get on bus and then drove out of the ferry. We left Picton at about 1pm.

We were back on national route 1 which is only a  single lane in each direction. It takes you along west coast mainly close to  sea.

We stopped briefly at Ohau Point Seal Colony to take photos of seals on the rocks.

The afternoon tea break was at Kiakoura. It reminded me of England - cold and wet with a pebble beach rather than sand.

Next we had a brief stop at Alexander. By this time the showers were clearing to a sunny afternoon. We reached Heartland Hotel Cotswold at Christchurch at 6:50pm. This hotel has tudor style buildings.

The bus had to enter via a very narrow lane. It was a credit to Malcolm that he manages to manoeuver the bus around to reception.

Ours was a large unit with separate bedroom, shower, bath, dining area, 2 TVs. I ended up fetching our bags myself rather than waiting for the porter.

We had a group dinner in the upstairs restaurant at 7:30pm. This was our first opportunity to meet the extra people who were joining the tour for the South Island.

Day 15 - Saturday 27th September

Today we'd be staying in Wellington and so there was no need to get up quite so early. We had a very nice buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant on the mezzanine level at about 7:45am. Our only commitment today was a tour starting at 9am showing the highlights of Wellington. It was on our APT bus with Karen our guide and Malcolm our driver.

The tour initially followed the edge of the harbour. It was a sunny day at that stage and so the harbour was very pretty. There were plenty of expensive boats moored at the marinas along the way.

Then the coach headed inland to travel through the tunnel under Mount Victoria and then climbed up to the top of Mount Victoria. This is a very tall hill that is close to the city centre and gives a fabulous 360 degree view of the city, harbour, airport and out to sea.

Next we drove to the parliament house where we stopped again to take photos. There are three buildings on the hill slightly above the waterfront area. The building on the left is circular and is referred to as the "beehive".

The final destination was the national museum which is located on the waterfront only a few blocks away from our hotel. We had time for a cup of coffee before the guided tour started at 11am.

Karen left us in the very capable hands of a museum guide. One of the first places he took us was to the dinosaur exhibit which is currently on loan from the Sydney Museum. Other exhibits showed various aspects of New Zealand history, wildlife, earthquakes and Maori culture.

The guided tour finished soon after midday and the guide invited us to spend more time at the museum. We found the Phar Lap exhibit that contains the horse's skeleton. Next we visited the earthquake experience where you stand inside a small house while they simulate an earthquake.

It was a most enjoyable morning. The bus tour was very worthwhile and the museum was very impressive.

After we went back to the hotel, Suzy set out to go shopping for the afternoon whereas I took the opportunity to catch up on my blog and photos.

I found a nearby cafe to have lunch. On the way back I saw two women - one of whom had a moon boot on her leg and was riding a scooter like my brother is currently using after his foot operation. They commented that they hadn't heard about these scooters before either. Her friend or sister said she enjoyed joyriding on the scooter just like I had.

They asked me where the Green Parrot Restaurant was. I told them I didn't have a clue but I found it about 20m further on and so I went back to find them but by then they'd vanished. When I got back to the hotel I met Darlene and Walter leaving the hotel. They asked me if I knew where the Green Parrot was and so I was able to tell them.

Suzy got back from her shopping expedition earlier than I expected and asked asked me how I was going with my washing. Whoops! I'd forgotten to go to the guest laundry. When I got there, I found there was a queue of APT passenger waiting to use the one and only washer and dryer.

The washing machine was very noisy - it shook and vibrated like a New Zealand earthquake. Darlene joked that it seemed to be trying to shake the dirt off rather than washing it off. I pitied the people in rooms near the guest laundry.

Suzy had injured her ankle on her shopping trip. Despite the pain, she decided to go back and buy the short-sleeve warm jacket she'd seen earlier. Such dedication. It would be great for the South Island next week.

Because of her sore foot, we decided to go to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The waitress seemed to be run off her feet and the service was slow. I had a steak and Suzy had a chicken dish. Both meals were well presented. I thought the steak was pretty average - it was like a cheap cut from the supermarket despite the high price we paid. Maybe they don't do a good job with steak in NZ. As usual, the wine was expensive.

It had started raining late in the afternoon. Wellington has a reputation for being windy and it had been fairly windy today. We'd enjoyed the sunshine this morning. We'd liked Wellington. It seems like a very nice city.

Day 14 - Friday 26th September

Today the APT coach was going to take us from Rotorua to Wellington - a distance of almost 500km - and so it was going to be fairly long day of travel. We had our bags out for collection at 7:15am and went down for a buffet breakfast in the hotel. The bus departed on time at 8:15am despite some people being confused about the seat rotation system.

It was a cloudy day but fine except for a few light showers at lunch time.

The bus first stopped at a lookout that gave a view of Wairakei power station. It was an opportunity to stretch the legs and take photos.

The next sstop was a Haku Falls where we took photos of the water that was flowing rapidly in a channel before pounding over a waterfall. There was a small shop near the falls where they provided rest rooms for a fee of 50c.

The morning tea break was at a fascinating town called Taupo that is on edge of Taupo Lake - a huge inland lake. We had coffee at the Robert Harris coffee shop and Suzy bought a scarf at a nearby shop.

Taupo has a lot of character. In some ways it reminded me of the Southern Highlands near Sydney. The girls would have loved to have stayed longer to explore the shops.

The view across the lake was beautiful with snow-capped mountains in the distance. Over the road, there was a large garden with well kept lawns and flower beds. It also contained a building labelled Superloo - the toilet fee was once again 50c.

For the next leg of the trip, we saw the snow-capped mountains from the bus. As we got closer, the coach stopped so we could take photos of the mountains.

The next stop was for lunch at a town called Rangitikei. It was a fairly ordinary country town and didn't have the character of Taupo. All four of us had burgers for lunch in the Soul Cafe.

Our next break was at Levin. The bus pulled up at a department store called Farmers where we found rest rooms after walking through the length of the shop. Suzy and Yolanda looked through the shop while Peter and I went for a walk around the block.

We reached the Amora Hotel in Wellington at 5pm where we were welcomed by the duty manager and were given a fruit drink in reception.

Our room is fairly spacious with tasteful decor. It has a big bed, a desk, a bath tub and a separate shower. They offer 30 minutes of free WiFi.

The hotel is located in the waterfront area near the harbour and our room has a nice view of the harbour. It also across the road from the Xero building (MYOB's main competitor in New Zealand).

On Karen's recommendation, a group of us had dinner (at APT's expense) at a restaurant called Hummingbird which is just a few blocks away from the hotel. The streets of Wellington are alive with activity on a Friday night.

At the restaurant, we ordered a selection of starters followed by main course. Suzy and I both ordered the rack of lamb - it was excellent. We were impressed by our waitress - she had lots of personality and related well to her customers.

Another great day.

Day 13 - Thursday 25th September

Today is my birthday and we woke to a beautiful sunny day which would be ideal for our outings here in Rotorua. We had a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

This morning, we'd booked to go on the half-day Ecothermal Wonderland Tour with Elite Adventures.

The tour operator divided the group into two because each of their mini-buses had a limit of 11 passengers.  Once again we arranged to go with Yolanda and Peter.

Our driver's name was Trent - a former rugby player with a significant limp caused by numerous rugby injuries.

The bus left the hotel at about 8:30am and headed south along the same road we'd taken last night to go to the Tamaki Maori Village. After about 20 minutes we stopped at Waiotupu Scenic Reserve where we saw hot mud pool bubbling and spurting hot mud into the air.

The next stop was at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Our guide took us on a fascinating tour that included steaming lakes, craters and lakes of various colours.

Next he drove us to see the Lady Knox Geyser. Here the crowds gather at 10:30am each day to see the geyser erupt.

The next stop was at Waimangu volcanic valley. As we walked down a gravel path, our guide showed us botanic items of interest and pointed out thermal lakes and streams. There was even steam coming out of the hillsides and cliffs.

At the final location, he took us up several flights of timber stairs to a beautiful blue thermal lake.

A bus was waiting at the bottom of the track to take us back to entrance of the visitor centre. He then drove us back to our hotel in Rotorua.

After lunch a hotel courtesy bus took us into town. We had booked to go on the Rotorua Duck Tour. I didn't know what to expect. It turned to be a tour in a World War II amphibious vehicle (landing craft).

It was clearly designed to be a fun trip. The driver kept up a very amusing banter for the entire journey. He started by issuing each of us with a whistle in the shape of a duck and encouraged us to blow it at anyone we saw.

Initially he drove us around some of the streets in the town and then headed off into the country area to the nearby lakes. He carefully launched the vehicle into the water and toured around the lakes. At the second lake, we stopped at a cafe for coffee.

At one location, we encountered a group of Asian tourists who seemed bemused and amazed at the sight of our vehicle. They took photos of us as we took photos of them. It was very entertaining for all of us.

After we got back to the hotel, we decided to go for a swim in the the hotels's thermal pool. The thermometer said it was about 35C.

In the area adjacent to the hotel, we could see steam coming out of the ground.

We had a buffet dinner at the hotel. After the main course, they presented me with a desert platter with a candle to celebrate my birthday.

Day 12 - Wednesday 24th September

Today the APT coach would take us from Auckland to Rotorua. We had our bags out for collection by the porter at 7:15am and we went down to breakfast. Suzy went downstairs to check out while I went to the bus. She wanted to tell them about the list of problems we'd had with the hotel.

The bus left at 8:15am. It was pretty full because an extra 10 people had joined the tour. We worked out that APT must combine a number of tours onto the same bus. We were doing the 17-day tour of both islands whereas other people were doing a 14-day tour of both islands and another group were only doing the north island. Therefore people would be joining and leaving the bus at various times.

A about 9:30am, we stopped for morning tea at the River Haven Cafe at Huntly in the Waikato region It was a pleasant spot next to the river that was somewhat spoiled by the coal-fired power station on the other side of the river.

Next we stopped at Waitomo to go on a guided tour of the underground caves. The tour started by going down a series of steps to a large cave called the Cathedral because it has good acoustics. It has been used by various choirs and famous stars. The stalactites and stalagmites are OK but they are not a patch on other underground caves such as Jenolan Caves.

What was exceptional was the next stage of the tour - namely the glow-worm caves. The guide led us down more dimly lit stairs where we gingerly boarded an aluminium dingy on an underground stream. Each dinghy accommodated 14 people. She then pulled us through the caverns. All the way along the journey, we were looking up at the roof of the caves to admire the glow-worms. It reminded me of admiring the galaxies in a clear night sky. I've never seen anything like it.

The coach retraced our route and then stopped at Otorohanga. This is a very pretty town with flower pots hanging from the street awnings. After lunch, we had a pleasant stroll through the town and got some more cash at the Westpac ATM.

When we reached Rotorua, the bus driver took us on a brief tour of the town to see some of the key sites before taking us to our hotel, the Holiday Inn. The staff here were very friendly and welcoming - much better than the hotel we'd been to at Auckland.

We were desperate to get some washing done and so we retrieved our bags from the porter and went straight to the guest laundry where we put on a couple of loads. We didn't have time to dry them yet because we were due to leave on a dinner excursion at 5:20pm.

The dinner was to be at the Tamaki Maori Village which is in a rural area about 20 minutes out of Rotorua. The purpose of the village is to demonstrate the traditional Maori way of life before European settlement - including housing, dancing, singing and food.

Earlier in the day, Karen had told us that our group needed to nominate a chief for this evening's event. They had decided to nominate me because my birthday is tomorrow. The rest of the bus cheered and clapped when she announced this and I didn't really have any option but to go along. Actually I was looking forward to it.

She explained that I would have various responsibilities during the evening including presenting the group to the village warriors on arrival. In this ceremony, I was to reassure the warriors that we came in peace.

The bus driver picked us from the hotel at about 5:30pm. His bus was small and cramped compared to APT's coach but we managed OK because it was only a 20 minute journey. The bus driver, Dennis, entertained us along the way with amusing stories.

Karen must have told him that I would be the chief because he called me out by name. He said the equivalent name to "Steve" in the Maori language was "Tipene". He explained in detail what I needed to do as the chief. When he stopped the bus at the village, he called me to the front of the bus to teach me how to do the Maori greeting of touching noses.

It turned out that there were five buses attending the event this evening and each one had a chief. The man who greeted the five of us in the greeting area inside the gateway while the others lined the area with cameras ready to record the event.

Shortly we heard chanting in the trees about the clearing where we were waiting. One by one several warriors ran down into the clearing to confront their visitors. Each one danced in front of us carrying spears and gave warlike menacing gestures including sticking their tongues out and grunting.

One of the five chiefs was selected as the main chief - unfortunately it wasn't me, When the chief of the village came down to confront us, he dropped a fern on the ground. The main chief then slowly moved forward to pick up the fern to indicate that we came in peace.

They then invited us into the village and it was the role of the visiting chiefs to lead the procession of guests behind the village chief. Inside the village, there were a series of exhibits of traditional Maori culture. This included dancing, games, making clothing and a demonstration of cooking in a pit.

At the first exhibit, the village chief taught the visiting chiefs how to perform the Haka - just like the beginning of an All Blacks rugby game. The final step before dinner was a demonstration of Maori singing and dancing in an auditorium built like a large Maori hut. It was very entertaining.

The next event was to be dinner. As you might expect, the chiefs needed to lead the other to the dinner hall. The village warrior who lead the chiefs to dinner had two fascinating white combs in his hair. He told me they were handed down to him by his great great great great grandmother.

The APT group had four tables in the banquet hall. It was a buffet dinner with plenty of food for everyone - chicken, lamb, fish, salads, etc. The staff invited one table at a time to come to help themselves. The bar in the corer of the hall served beer, wine and various other drinks - including a green alcohol fruit punch that Suzy asked me to get for her.

After dinner, several village staff entertained us with singing. Then they invited the chiefs to perform the Haka we had learnt earlier in the evening. I had difficulty remembering it all but at least I could imitate the warrior who was standing in front of me leading the dance.

The bus left before 9pm to take us back to the hotel. As you might expect, Dennis our driver was very entertaining. Then, out of the blue, he invited me to the front of the bus to talk about myself and lead the singing and entertainment for the return journey. I managed to tell a few jokes and pointed out that I had a dreadful singing voice. I was excused and sat down while the whole bus sang songs for the remainder of the journey.

It was a most enjoyable evening and a very memorable one - for me in particular.

Day 11 - Tuesday 23rd September

This morning we were due to go on a boat trip on the Bay of Islands and then this afternoon the bus would take us back to Auckland. We had our bags ready for pickup at 7:15am and we went down for breakfast at the hotel restaurant. The bus picked us up to take us to the wharf at Paihia at 8:20am.

At the wharf area, we had half an hour before the boat left at 9am and so we went for a walk to some of the shops. When we returned to the wharf, there was a very long queue waiting for the boat. At that stage, I couldn't see the boat but I assumed it must have been quite big because of the length of the queue. It turned out that it accommodates about 150 people.

The main reason the queue was so slow was that there was a photographer taking photos of each couple or family group before they boarded. Yolanda and Peter had saved us two seats on the top deck and so we would have a great view for the trip.

There were plenty of great views to be had. Moreover the weather was perfect - a dramatic contrast to yesterday. It was a beautiful sunny day with hardly a cloud in the sky. The water in the bay was a beautiful blue and amazingly clear.

The boat stopped to pick up a few passengers at Russell on a nearby peninsula and then headed into the bay. The captain kept up a very entertaining commentary and banter for the entire journey.

It wasn't long until we encountered a group of about five or six dolphins - including a baby. The captain manouevered the boat closer so we could get a better view and take lots of photos. When we eventually moved on, the dolphins followed the boat - playing in the backwash and leaping out of the water. An amazing spectacle.

No doubt Captain Cook would have been blown away by the view in 1769 when he sailed into this bay. He counted 144 islands. There are probably more if you count the rocks that pop up above the surface. We didn't see them all but what we saw was very impressive.

It wasn't long before we saw another group of dolphins. This time they were joined by flocks of birds - many of which started doing kamakazi dives into the water to catch fish - which pleased the dolphins. It was a spectacular scene.

The main purpose of the boat trip was to visit the Hole in the Rock. This is a large passage in one of the islands out to sea beyond the bay. When we got there, the captain asked us to hold on tight and he then drove through the hole.

Next he drove to an island where he pulled up to a wharf so we could all get off to have lunch. We'd bought sandwiches either at the wharf before we got on board or at the little shop on the boat. It was a very pretty beach on a nice island with rolling hills covered in grass and trees.

They encouraged us to to take one of the walks on the island provided we were back on the boat by 12:10pm. We walked to the top of one of the hills and we were glad we did - the view was absolutely amazing - a 360 degree view of the Bay of Islands. It was breathtaking for two reasons - hard work to get up the hill and stunning views when you got there.

People took turns to take photos of each other with this truly amazing view in the background. We then ate our sandwiches while we admired the view.

The boat got us back to the wharf at Piahia soon after 1pm for our bus trip back to Auckland. It had been a fabulous memorable morning.

At about 2:30pm, we stopped at Whangare - a pleasant waterfront centre off the main highway where we enjoyed the surroundings and an ice cream. It was a very tasteful location next to a waterway filled with expensive boats.

We were back at the Rendezvous Grand Hotel in Auckland by about 5:15pm. The hotel arrival was a hassle - the keys they gave us didn't work in the lift, the reissued keys didn't work in the lifts either but they did in the other set of lifts but then they didn't work to open our room, then they gave us another set of keys and were able to get into our room. The room had large twin beds and had a bathroom for disabled people. When the porter eventually arrived with our bags I wasn't in a good mood and I didn't give him a tip - not that it was his fault.

Dinner was a group event in the hotel restaurant at 7pm. Yolanda and Peter had saved seats for us again. The group was larger because another 10 people had arrived in Auckland to join the bus tour.

It was an enjoyable meal - most of us had salmon. They topped up our wine regularly which helped us relax after another long enjoyable day.