Sunday 9 April 2017

New Zealand: The Rest.


Back in February Madeline was very excited...


She packed her bag...


...and set off.


She couldn't quite believe her eyes when she got to the airport... 



'Are we really going up in this?


She asked for her photo to be taken by some orchids.


She was pleased to see there would be entertainment on board.



Arriving in Auckland there was a nice welcome.


The first morning in New Zealand dawned bright and sunny and she headed out into the garden




The following day she discovered some wildlife.


Or rather cicada casings


She bravely held one on her hand knowing that there was nothing in it anymore.


The colour of it fascinated her.


She was also fascinated by the colours of the live cicadas that would have emerged from such casings.


plus the sounds they made.  A mixture of clicking and chirping which sounds much like loud tinnitus!



A little later she went for a stroll around the garden admiring the flowers.


It really was a beautiful day.



Another day she also enjoyed the garden, this time wearing her blue dress as it was just like the colour of the sky.



On the weekend all of them headed down to the North Shore to meet up with the knitting group.


Peggy Sue and Henry seemed surprised to meet this outgoing young man!



He held out his hand to Peggy Sue to introduce himself...although she was a little unsure at first.


Soon though she shook hands and others came to say hello as well.

A very good afternoon was had and it was a shame we couldn't meet up the other Saturdays we were there.



Early in March Hitty Madge got a delightful surprise in the post.  


This wonderful cardigan was knitted by our dear friend Jesse, Angelo's Papa.  Angelo and his friends have a wonderful blog which can be found here


Hitty Madge declared it her most favourite cardigan, said it matched the greens of the bush perfectly and that she was 'never going to take it off'.  I think she will at some stage, but she still has it on so far.  She also thought it matched her dress beautifully as well.

A couple of weeks into March we headed up North to go and visit our friend in Whangarei.


We travelled up Highway 16 and stopped at one a favourite lookout point.  


The views are gorgeous and look over the Kaipara Harbour.




Madeline enjoyed the view very much.


Our next comfort spot was in Waipu.  The river looked a little muddy this time due to the torrential rain we had had a few days prior.


The sky was a gorgeous blue though and it was a super day.


Madeline was happy to take a walk around.



It wasn't long before we arrived in Whangarei and enjoyed a stroll round our friend's property.


She had quite a pumpkin harvest.


I don't think you will be able to push this one Madeline!


I bet these taste delicious!



Her garden is beautiful.


The land is a wonderful mix of paddocks, 



native tree and....


a stream/river.


Madeline enjoyed sitting beside the river listening to it and seeing if she could spot any eels.

The rest of our time up North was documented on Henry's two blog posts which can be seen here:

Mt Manaia, Whangarei Heads, New Zealand.


Peach Cove, Bream Head - Te Whara Scenic Reserve.




Towards the end of March we went to Shelly Beach.


Madeline sat on the beach which was indeed Shelly and contemplated going swimming....


...until she saw this sign!


She contented herself with watching the birds instead.



8 comments:

  1. It seems you had a wonderful time. It's good you are all back home safely and no one was eaten by a white shark - or a cicada. I don't know if I like animals that make sounds like tinnitus.
    It must have been lovely to meet the knitting group.

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    1. We had a some good times and some very sad and emotional times. Fortunately no one was eaten...although that isn't strictly true...the mosquitos had a good go at me one afternoon when I was taking photos of the morepork in the bush!

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  2. Thank you for sharing all these wonderful photos. I'm happy Hitty Madge likes her cardigan. I almost went blind knitting such small stitches! Welcome back home.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed them. The stitches were indeed small! Thank you :-)

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  3. Madeline was very brave holding that cicada skin, it looks so big and scary on her arm. She was sensible not to go swimming with the sharks too. I'm glad Peggy Sue did a bit of socialising, even if she was taken aback by that forward young gentleman. Hitty Madge's cardigan is just right with her dress, well done to Angelo's Papa.

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    1. Madeline was very brave indeed. Peggy Sue didn't get out a lot so she was pleased to meet up with some others at the knitting group and she was also glad she could provide some distracting comfort to my Mum at times of high stress.

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  4. Some great views seen here on this adventure... though not keen on the insects!

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    1. Ha ha, I didn't think you would be too keen on the insects ;-) I hope you saw Dear Henry's posts as well.

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