Day 24 - Breakfast, a trip around the coast and a barbie!

Breakfast was at the Shamrock Cottage, the second oldest building in Manukau City dating back to 1848, and a very good breakfast it was too! 

Then a trip around the coast to see some great sights.

The local bird life certainly were enjoying being on the beach.

The obligatory photo overlooking water known as the Firth of Thames. I love these British names. It makes you feel quite at home!

Now that is what you call a tree fern although we saw loads of them as they cover most of NZ.

Also covering most of the roadsides, where they grow like weeds, were agapanthus, blue and white.

Finally, after a long day, we return to a delicious steak BBQ cooked by Amber and served with great salads prepared by Carolyn.

Day 23 - Auckland quayside

After a trip on the ferry from Half-Moon Bay into Auckland it was time to explore the quayside...

...and visit the Pacific Showcase exhibition which was taking place there.

It was a display of arts and crafts from the Pacific region...

...involving all kinds of materials.

You could meet and chat to the artist,...

...purchase regional produce and artisan foods....

...and even get an authentic Maori tattoo!

To find out more, click HERE.

There were even places to rest if the going got too tough.

Along the quayside was the KZ1, the NZ entry in the 27th America's Cup...

...and a little further along, the Wynyard Crossing allows a yacht to pass.

We pause for the obligatory photo...

...and have to admire the decoration on the quayside buildings

And then it's time for a delicious lunch at one of the quayside restaurants.

Day 22 - To the land of the Kiwi

We fly to Auckland, New Zealand where we are met by my niece, Carolyn.

Just to get a feel of the area we have a quick tour. Here we are with Browns Island behind.

Maoris are really into carved wood and there are examples of their art everywhere.

What better than a fish and chips picnic in the park with Carolyn and her daughter Amber.

And then a trip around Auckland city as dusk approaches. 

NZ is so full of promise!

Day 18 - Canberra

Canberra is perhaps the lesser well known capital city of Australia and mainly consists of government buildings, museums and wide open green areas.

A tour of Parliament House is a must. Parliament had not got back to work after the long Christmas-summer holiday

And who should be up on the roof of the Parliament building but the Queen herself pictured here with our very good friend Myriam and us.

And here we are inside the House of Representatives - notice I am wearing a patriotic baseball cap!

Margaret relaxes in the hotel lobby.

Also staying in the hotel while we were there was the former Australian Cricket team captain Ricky Ponting and he generously posed for a photo with Lauren and Nathan after autographing their paper table place setting mats.

The Sculpture Garden is so interesting. Above we have Aristide Maillol's La Montagne,...
(Click HERE to find out more.)

...a smaller version of Anthony Gormley's Angel of the North,...

...Rick Amor's The Dog, which seemed quite friendly,...

...Auguste Rodin's nude study of the burghers of Calais posing with me, (with my clothes on!)...

...and Bert Flugelman's Cones stand making the seemingly impossible into reality.

All the buildings are architectural delights set in plenty of space making this a very pleasant capital city indeed.

Day 16 - Australia Day!

We flew from Ayers Rock to Sydney in the afternoon and in the evening went along to the Australia Day celebrations in the local park. 

There were thousands of people there and the food stalls were doing a great trade.

Many of the stalls were being run by local organisations...

...providing a wide variety of food...

...but everyone was keen to celebrate.

There were plenty of very colourful costumes too...

...and lots of sideshows for the kids - the queues were enormous though!

To see the main event at the event, the brilliant firework display, click HERE.

Day 14 - Ayers Rock and the Sounds of Silence

An early start to catch the coach to take us to the viewing point for the sunrise at 5.45 am at Uluru.

And yes, it is a good sunrise...

...which is witnessed by us this morning.

The colour of the rock changes as the sun falls on it and it becomes red again.

After the sunrise we are taken on a tour of the rock to see various features such as very old cave paintings...

...and various indentations, shapes and other features in the rock which each have their own stories in legend explained.

Further around the base of the rock, this time to the start of the climb up the rock, which is not encouraged, then finally to the cultural centre where taking photos and video is prohibited.

In the evening we are taken by coach to the site of the open air "Sounds of Silence" restaurant for a very special evening meal which starts with sparkling wine and hors d'oeuvres consumed to the sound of the didgeridoo. Click HERE to hear the guy playing the didgeridoo.

We are not the only guests to be in the area!

A great meal in the company of new friends...

...brings another great, but rather long, day to a close. And yes, there is kangaroo steak on the plate!

Day 13 - Kata Tjuta

Everyone has heard of Ayers Rock but not everyone knows that it is also called Uluru or has heard of Kata Tjuta which is just as wonderful and only 25 km to the west.



Kata Tjuta was first on our list of places to visit on the afternoon that we flew to Uluru for our 3 night stay.

As the temperature was around 44°C we had to keep sipping water to prevent dehydration as we walked across the terrain up a gorge.

It's not called "the Valley of the Winds" for nothing. It's a good job my hat had a chin strap!

Sunrise and sunset are the best time to observe the rocks as this is when their colours change along with the colours in the sky...

...and we had the opportunity to watch the rocks change colour while drinking sparkling wine and trying a range of hors d'oeuvres.