Sunday 20th
In the morning we got to the ASB bank in Newmarket for 10am and opened a bank account, signing up for credit cards. We walked around and window shopped before we went to our usual cafe, Bhavni having a chai latte, a flat white for me. I had an appointment with a hair dresser; managed to get a really short hair cut! We had a quiet night in.
Monday 21st
We spent the main part of the day doing a proper sort out of the shipment, putting all the things away.
Tuesday 22nd
The day was meant to be lovely and we were going to make the most of it.We drove down Green Lane to Sandringham (where we stopped at the market to buy some fruit and vegetables) then south till Godley Road which we followed west, to Titarangi where we took Huia Road. We had a couple of stops on the way, mostly for Bhavnis photo opportunities including the reservoirs and Cornwallis where we were followed by some chickens. A little distance past Huia the road became unsealed, quite windy and much more narrow. There were also a lot more gradients as we were going up and down hills, but the scenery was brilliant with lush rain forest end every now and then a sea view. At the end we reached Whatipu which is important for Mouri as any vessel entering the harbour would be seen there in the old times. We parked and walked to the beach – a black sand beach, about 10 minutes away emerging not far from Paratutae Island. The only other person nearby was a lady who was painting the scenery hidden away, otherwise the beach was deserted. We had a walk on the beach and climbing a sand covered hill.
Getting back to the car (after failing to find the caves) we drove back to Cornwallis on Pine Ave and sat for a picknick at the park there (after finding a bench in the sun), with a view of the bay and Auckland, where we relaxed for a time until we left for home.
Wednesday 23rd – Saturday 26th
We spend the days mostly sitting at home and doing work with daily walks either to newmarket or some of the parks. We did have a couple of visitors in the garden – cats – basking in the sun just outside the door. On Saturday we baked a cake.
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