Hi everyone out there, it seems like we are becoming multi-national with Pat in Canada, Geraldine in Florida, Lynda in Spain and our band of UK followers. Thanks for reading, makes it worthwhile doing.

Yesterday afternoon was very pleasant as Kath and I drove to Davenport on the other side of Auckland. It is the home of the that invincible fleet, the New Zealand Navy ! The main street is very quaint with an array of shops, restaurants, cafes and bars that lead down to the waters edge and around to the Naval Base. There are some nice walks and there is a huge Pohutukawa Tree in the park. These trees are truly strange and roots form on branches high in the tree and descend down to the ground where they burrow into the soil. It looks like someone has propped the tree up so that it won't fall over.

After having lunch in a cafe, we drove around to Stanley Point for some fine views across the bay to Auckland. From there we drove along King Edward Parade to North Head (Takapuna in Maori) which is an an extinct volcano that was fortified in the 1870's when there were fears of an invasion from Russia. Kath remained in the car looking from our elevated position across the bay whilst I made my way to the top. Every time I tried to take a photograph, it was either raining in Auckland, it looked like someone had put a huge sheet of smoked glass between us and the city, or it tried to rain on me. It was still pleasantly warm and breezy and the sun kept popping out but I had to wait for a while before I could take a video of the views which were quite spectacular.
We made our way back to Darren and Maxine's house at Bucklands Beach but were caught in the late afternoon rush-hour from Auckland. One lane was closed on the Auckland Harbour Bridge which caused chaos. It was typical because the weather was really hot and sunny whilst we sat in the car. I had my arm out of the window and got it burnt. I look like a wagon driver with one red arm and one white arm ! We got back just in time for a shower and then off to Helen and Kenny's house for the evening. We assumed Helen was cooking a meal but the kitchen was like a sterile bubble and not a sign of food anywhere. At that point, out came the take away menus for the local Indian. We all ordered and eventually sat and ate and drank. It was probably the worst Indian I had ever had but it didn't spoil what was another very pleasant evening.