Final Full Day in New Zealand

Tuesday 2nd February 2010

Brenda and Vernon set off for a trip that involves an overnight stop in the Coramandel area of North Island and were away for around 10am. We had decided to go to Piha on the west coast but went in search of the Sylvia Park shopping centre first. We had planned on taking the left over pizza from last night to eat for lunch but when I checked the boxes, Vernon and Brenda had taken mine and left their own. I would like to be a fly on the wall when he gets a mouthful of my chillies when expecting something much milder! I had seen a jacket in Auckland the other day at a Canterbury outlet and was told last night that Canterbury also had a store at this shopping centre. After going a long way round to find the centre, we found the shop fairly quickly. I bought the jacket after a certain amount of pressure from Kath who obviously liked it. We then went to find a jewellry shop to buy a Pandora bracelet for Maxine. We had to make enquiries at the information desk as the shops we visited didn't stock Pandora. The nice lady sent us to a shop that stocked it and Kath chose the gift, very nice it was too.

We eventually set off for Piha via Blockhouse Bay and Titirangi. Our first sign of the place was from the top of a cliff overlooking the surfers beach. Superb views. We drove down to the car park and unpacked our things and wandered onto the beach. It was black volcanic sand but this didn't detract from the views of the rolling waves and the many surfboarders who were riding back to the shore upon the foaming surf. It looked quite inviting but I thought better of it. We ate a late lunch on the beach, sharing the odd piece of pizza with the squarking seagulls who were being constantly pestered by their chicks for the mother to regurgitate the food for them. We sat in the warm hazy sunshine though it was mainly cloudy for much of the afternoon, being entertained by the variety of birds.

The beaches are the venue for many NZ national and international surfing championships and unlike the other day when there was little surf at one of the beaches we visited, the rollers were quite large today. I went to explore around Lion Rock, which seperates the two beaches. It is approx 400 - 500 ft high and there are some steps cut out of the rock with a rope handrail to help intrepid explorers like myself to climb up. The rock steps later become wooden ones, filled with sand, then there is a path for a while before the steps start again. Although you cannot get to the top because of the danger of falling rocks and unstable ground, you can get pretty high and take some great pictures of the beaches below.

We set off back at just after 4pm and took the car back to the car hire depot near to the airport. If we took it back tomorrow after 10am we would have to pay for another day and we didn't need it any longer. Darren collected us from the depot on his way home from work and we only had to wait about 5 mins for him to arrive so it was good timing.

At 7.15pm, Darren, Maxine, Harry, Kath and myself went to the Esplanade Restaurant on Eastern Beach for a final meal which was very enjoyable. Helen joined us back at the house afterwards but Kenny couldn't make it after encountering problems at work and having to stay late. He will come and say goodbye in the morning. We took some photos and hoped it wouldn't be long before we met up again. Helen is talking of coming back to the UK on holiday this summer and Darren and Maxine may also return for a couple of weeks at some stage. We said goodbye to Darren as he went to bed as we won't see him in the morning with his early start. The girls had bought Kath a present each as a leaving gift which was very nice.

Before starting the blog, I received an email from Cheryl Ryan, who we were staying with in Manly nr. Sydney, Australia, when we arrive tomorrow. She gave me an address to go to which isn't the same as I was led to believe we were staying at. We exchanged a couple of emails and I expressed my displeasure and I haven't heard anything since from her. She didn't respond to my last email so I haven't a clue what is going on. The address she has given is at Queenscliff, which is raised above the beach on a cliff, as the name suggests, no good for wheelchairs. We will se what develops tomorrow though its a bit late to change accomodation and we have paid a 50% deposit.