The girls found something interesting while in New Zealand....although Hitty Helen M is pretending she can't see....
The insect on Hitty Helen R's lap is rather too big for her tastes.
Hitty Helen R is concerned the Cicada is feeling a little unwell and wants to nurse it back to full chirruping self.
Hitty Helen M really is not keen.
Cicada - they fill the air with their 'music' for the summer....the sound was in full swing when the Hittys arrived in New Zealand but by the time they left they had pretty much finished for the season.
Just one photo of our morning out in Whangarei. This is taken by the Whangarei Basin/Marina. There is now a lovely walk around it but we didn't get a chance to do it unfortunately. The day was beautiful and we loved the way the clouds reflected in the water.
We made good progress to Kerikeri that same afternoon and arrived late afternoon and had our picture taken outside The Stone Store.
This is New Zealand's oldest stone building built between 1832 and 1836.
Next door is the Mission House, the oldest surviving building in New Zealand having been built in 1822
Both these buildings are beside the Kerikeri inlet, which is simply stunning.
There used to be a stone bridge here, but it was removed in 2008 after severe flooding. For the best as it turns out as the road used to run directly in front of the Stone Store. Now there is a bypass and it is a lovely tranquil area indeed.
The following day we visited Rewa's Village, a replica Maori Fishing Village and learnt a little about the history of such villages. Sadly it was a little 'tired' but the friendly lady at the entrance said they are working on restoring it. Let's hope they manage to do so as it is a fascinating place that has been a part of Kerikeri since the late 1960s.
This looked the perfect size for us if it hadn't been so high up off the ground!
Yum, we have heard food cooked in a Hangi is delicious but sadly we didn't get a chance to try any.
Imagine food cooked underneath here?!
We weren't sure we liked the sound of this, as we like birds, but it was a different time to what it was now and birds were an important part of their culture, lifestyle and diet.
The view looking back to the Stone Store and the Mission House.
An underground food store.
Us three girls sitting just outside it.
Peggy Sue & Henry got to sit in the canoe.
We look at the size of the oars.
Another view of the river with the Mission House and the Stone Store in the background.
Sitting on a post.
This was the perfect size for us and we would have loved to have brought it home with us!
Still at least we got to have a sit in it and imagine what it must have been like.
Monday 14th March was the perfect day to head north. Our person planned to drive up to visit her friend in Whangarei for a few days and then head up to Kerikeri for a couple of days. We were very excited as had heard all about both Whangarei and Kerikeri from Hitty Madge who went last year.
We had a good view of the road ahead.
On the way up Highway 16 we stopped at a lovely look out point and could see the Kaipara Harbour in the distance.
The scenery was stunning and our person felt quite emotional seeing it again - it bought back some wonderful memories of various trips she has made in the past.
Here we are - you can't beat the blue sky with hills and harbour in the background.
It was a bit hard posing with the three of us!
Our person's friend Rosemary lives on 10 acres just outside of Whangarei and has a beautiful property that backs on to hills.
Her garden was looking lovely.
We enjoyed having a tour of the garden.
A perfect Hitty sized pumpkin!
Lovely flowers in the garden.
The following day Rosemary took us out to see the Waro Rocks, LakeWaro and walk round the Yvonne Stewart track. You can just see us sitting on the size. A close up was taken, but well it didn't flatter us one iota - we were just blurs so we decided to omit that picture.
The History of the Lake can be read about here.
This beautiful lake has been made from what was the quarry at what is now this lovely Scenic Reserve. More can be read about it here and here.
Isn't it just beautiful?
The rocks were all sorts of different shapes and sizes.
Round the other side of the lake we stop for a breather and to take in the view.
This is one of the smaller rocks!
We felt rather small ourselves sitting on it.
There were some informative boards along the walk for us to learn about the history of the place.
Fascinating!
Some Black Shags and a pair of Paradise ducks enjoying the lake.
