It poured with rain all the way from Whitianga to katikati, so we went to Morton winery & bought wine & fizz for presents & for ourselves. I had spotted Katikati museum on the way, so we went there, which looked like nothing at all from the outside, but the lovely couple who run it made it such fun. It was well worth the $6 entry fee. They were dairy farmers, forced out when the Uk joined the EU, but they now think it was the best thing which happened to regenerate the region, because the agriculture has diversified & there are now lots more people in the area. Our B&B was run by an English couple along ‘English’ lines, i.e. they kept themselves to themselves, unlike NZ Homestay hosts. We were not surprised to learn that they had a guest house in Paignton, Devon, seaside landlady did spring to mind! It was very reasonable though, so perhaps we shouldn’t grumble.
I took Hilary to Tauranga to get the bus back to Wellington, & then made my way to my ex-colleagues house in Matua. Mark left Avis 2 years ago & emigrated with his family. He isn’t working in IT at all, but is taking photos for open2view.com. I think he enjoys it, but it is very time-consuming & he was hoping to spend more time with his young family than he did in the UK. We visited the Old Mission House on Sunday, which Mark & family knew nothing about, it was in the book given to me by my Avis colleagues as part of my leaving present, called ‘1001 Things to Do in NZ’, it has proved very interesting.
On Monday Tracey & I walked up Mount Manganui (I’m really not fit!), & then went to the hot pools at it’s base. I really love the hot pool experience in NZ, & it certainly prevented my legs from aching, for a while at least! We met lots of people climbing the Mount, there were a couple of cruise ships in port, & we were mistaken for passengers twice, must be the accent (&/or the clothes, Kiwis are very informal, to put it mildly!). I remember some people on the QE2 being very offended when someone told them they were surprised to see them wearing shoes, but it is a fact that a lot of children (& a few adults), do not wear shoes at all.
I took Hilary to Tauranga to get the bus back to Wellington, & then made my way to my ex-colleagues house in Matua. Mark left Avis 2 years ago & emigrated with his family. He isn’t working in IT at all, but is taking photos for open2view.com. I think he enjoys it, but it is very time-consuming & he was hoping to spend more time with his young family than he did in the UK. We visited the Old Mission House on Sunday, which Mark & family knew nothing about, it was in the book given to me by my Avis colleagues as part of my leaving present, called ‘1001 Things to Do in NZ’, it has proved very interesting.
On Monday Tracey & I walked up Mount Manganui (I’m really not fit!), & then went to the hot pools at it’s base. I really love the hot pool experience in NZ, & it certainly prevented my legs from aching, for a while at least! We met lots of people climbing the Mount, there were a couple of cruise ships in port, & we were mistaken for passengers twice, must be the accent (&/or the clothes, Kiwis are very informal, to put it mildly!). I remember some people on the QE2 being very offended when someone told them they were surprised to see them wearing shoes, but it is a fact that a lot of children (& a few adults), do not wear shoes at all.
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