Easter Day and Easter Monday

This is our first Easter Day in New Zealand and it is a long time since children were part of our festivities.

Zoe and Emily were off to an early start. Being Sunday morning it was my shower time, but the girls could not wait and the table had been invaded before I could get my camera up stairs. It was a very exciting time as the girls examined numerous Easter Day treats.

Easter Table

Easter Basket

I'd better give granddad's egg a shake

Zoe's Bunny

Emily's Basket

Breakfast of eggs and sausages

Breakfast consisted of toast soldiers, boiled eggs and sausages. Sally had worked hard to make it a good occasion. The egg hunt followed, but the girls quite enjoyed hiding eggs themselves.

Find the eggs I've hidden

Irene and I went off to the local Presbyterian Church as it was the nearest and best suited our time table. Before Holy Communion, which we attended, there had been a family service involving an Easter egg hunt. The service was the usual joyful Easter one. The main feature of the service which proceeded Communion was to go to the front of the church and collect a flower to add to the large cross which already had some flowers on it.

At the end of the service some of the men carried the cross out of the church to place it on the street in the beautiful blue-sky, Easter Day.

When we got back Sally had prepared a traditional Sunday lunch of chicken and roast potatoes.

Zoe was picked up and taken to a farmland home of a friend that she had known since she was 2 years old.

Later on the 5 of us followed first of all stopping for an ice-creams from the 'Village Co-op' and consumed while sitting on a bench by the beach. The beach was very crowded here and all the way down Tamaki Drive. In fact it took some time to get to the city because of the heavy holiday traffic.

I managed to keep sight of Sally's car for the whole journey. Their friend's house was set in something of a small holding well off the main roads. 

The Tree House

The Rear of the House

Outdoor dining area with
full size horse statue

Outdoor Food Area

The Goat in the Back Garden

The girls on the trampoline

There was plenty for the girls to do. Zoe and her friend had been playing in a tree-house, but there was a trampoline and plenty of space to run around. We sat under a rustic shelter of the usual corrugated iron variety. There was already a lot of food about and more was arriving. Are hosts were very generous.

Suddenly there was an almighty bang. At first I thought children had pushed something large over, but when we headed for the gate and standing there was a white car, which had just turned off the road. Its windscreen was completely deformed and the front wing smashed in. Nearer the scene there was a red motor bike a metre or so from the side, smashed up and lying on its side.

Irene was quickly on the scene

I had my camera and took a couple
 of shots which I thought might help the
investigation if the vehicles were moved;
which they were

Then came the realisation that there must have been a rider and he was found about 6 metres on the other side of the car not far from the pylon behind. We thought that he was lucky to be alive. The only visible injury was a graze on his hand. His helmet and jacket were badly damaged, but probably contributed to him being alive.

We found out that his name was Sean and he was on his way home from a day out. Our host phoned for an ambulance and was told that they would send the next available one. The break down vehicle had already arrived and it seemed such a long time before help came for the injured man. At the time we did not know how badly injured he was. Sally did a sterling job of supporting the man's head on piece of rolled up cloth. His body was on flat grass, but his head was hanging down a small bank.

As we were talking about whether the police should be notified they arrived. The whole business of rescue and investigation took some time and it was very dark before the car was finally removed. Later in the evening Sean rang from the hospital to tell our host that he had sustained no serious injuries. Earlier Sean told us that he was not insured (being uninsured is legal here) and he was very concerned about his bike which he only bought 3 weeks ago. The lady in the car was not injured at all.


One of the young ladies said that she had been feeling bored. We agreed that next time we ever feel bored we should be pleased that we are. This was not the kind of excitement any of us wanted. 

The party restarted with a barbecue and followed on with the bonfire. It seems that the need to burn a good pile of stuff was a major reason for the party. The children enjoyed the fire, but by now it was getting late for the children so we left and got back about 8 o'clock.

Ian Helping Start the Fire
(Everyone moved back quickly after this shot)

Emily Getting Excited

This gave us time to see the second part of a Harry Potter film in our quest to complete viewing the series.

Easter Monday

We divided in to three groups. Sally and Emily went off to Sky Tower, Ian and Zoe went off to play mini-golf and Irene and I went off to find the Parnell Rose Garden. 


It was just off the Tamaki Drive near the port and was in full colour with a large variety of specimens.

There were two smaller gardens. One was a bushland path with plants having an interesting pattern of leaf scars.

The other garden was after the style of a notable local artist and rose grower.

From the gardens we walked down to Judges Bay. A group which looked to be mainly Maoris had occupied the public barbecue area for a party.

We went on along the bottom of the cliffs to the Parnell Baths.

To reach the chapel we climbed flights of steps to a bridge across to the top of the cliff. From the top we had a different view to our usual one of the main railway line running on earthwork across the mouth of a bay.

The chapel was of particular interest to us as we came across the headstone of a lady who died in 1866 having been an immigrant from Southwell near Nottingham. Another headstone was sadder because the three men had died in their early twenties. One had drowned in the harbour.

After lunch in the local cafe I decided to follow my nose and drove through Parnell and Newmarket until I reached Cornwall Park. It was too busy to park so we headed for Mount Wellington.


We had been to this hill on an earlier trip when some houses were being built in the quarry below. (See earlier blog) The area is now known as Stone Fields. Many building have been completed and the work continues.

I made the ascent to the top and this time walked all around the rim of the crater. There are good views from here.

The ever visible Rangitoto

John 3:16 Ferry leaving Half Moon Bay

After tea we started the next part of the Harry Potter marathon.

Spit, Nuts, Honey and Cheese

This blog covers trips on Wednesday and Thursday.

On Wednesday we had the most glorious weather, but with little free time we decided to repeat a walk we made last year. Five minutes drive away is a play park which has got to be known as 'Ladybird Park', because one of the rides is shaped like a beetle. Across the park, over a bridge up and down a rise is a sea/river side path which leads to spit that reaches across the river. It is a beautifully quiet walk. The sea was very warm and gentle. Even I got my feet wet, as did mum.

Well not in this picture

The spit was populated by birds and small car ferries went back and forward from 'John 3:16' to Waiheke island.


On the land side of the spit mangrove were taking over and forming swamps and pools of clear water.
On Wednesday the day was not quite as pleasant, but we did have a good drive up the North West side of North Island beyond Helensville to MacNuts Farm on South Head Road. Here they grow and harvest nuts -Macadamia nuts to be precise. We had a slice of very tasty MacNut mud cake and a cup of chai latte, before exploring the garden attached to the farm and buying a pack of tasty nuts.

From here we made our way, with some help from the SAT NAV, across from the West coast and State Highway 16 to the East coast and State Highway 1.

We eventually made it to Warkworth where we joined SH1 and started down to Puhoi which was our destination. Very soon I spotted the Honey Centre. Here we had (Mum - Ginger Ale and fruit yogurt / me lime milkshake and a wrap).

On we went. SH1 goes from the furthest north of North Island where it is a gravel track to Wellington, where it is a four lane motorway. From Warkworth to the new toll road section it is a single lane road, but like most open roads the speed limit is 100kph (70 mph - if you dare).

Just before the toll road tunnel was our turn to Puhoi. You simply go to the centre of the road and take the right turn.

Puhoi is almost another world. It calls itself a town. (Population is too small for 'Lonely Planet' to record.) It claims to be NZs first Bohemian (Czechoslovakian) settlement. It has a Catholic church, a hotel, a Catholic school, a stables and a library.

The library is a good example of the village spirit. It is a small white hut in the centre of the village.


I had set up my tripod to take a picture of the front of the building when there was a movement and an apology from inside. I then had a very pleasant meeting with Mary. I went in and spoke with an elderly lady. She told me that she was not the librarian, but was standing in while the librarian was playing golf. I then asked how often new books were put into the library. Here is where the strength of community came in. Apparently the library has no public funds. Once a year the whole stock is put out in a marquee to be sold and the people of the village supply a new stock by donating books.

Mary did not sound very much like a Kiwi. She told me that she was from Yorkshire. I asked how long ago. She said 40 years. She had bought out her three children. The eldest was now 52 and all had settled either here or in Australia. Her husband was a carding machine engineer. We talked about not everywhere being as rosy as people make out. She made it clear that if it was only her and her husband they would return to the UK. It is still home to them.

Puhoi was our destination because it had a cheese factory.This was 3km further up the road. We were free to walk around the grounds which had fountains and great views of the hills. After our walk we had afternoon tea and set off back to Auckland.


Once more we crossed SH1 and a few meter later arrived at the mouth of the very recently opened toll road. Regular drivers clocked up a bill, courtesy of cameras and computers. We chose to pull off to the cash pay point. Two officials had a tent and seats to help motorists deal with the computer terminal. Mum succeeded in typing in our registration number and putting the princely sum of $2 into the machine and we were on our way. From here it is motorway through Auckland.