Sunday 17 August There was rugby on TV so Jez & Abby whizzed up to join us early morning. Abby & I got bored so headed out for a slightly...

Saturday 16 August Oops! Opened the freezer to get out a chilly block and discovered an exploded beer bottle which we forgot about last...

Friday 15 August What a triumph! After a couple of pretty short walks outdoors, Louis set his mind to getting an Island Gelato - so off...

Thursday 14 August Something woke me just after 7am - very fortuitous as the sun was just about to rise through a glowing orange sky to...

Wednesday 13 August Early morning alarm - our level of the Quay West carpark was getting its annual spruce up, so I had to move the...

Tuesday 12 August Onwards and upwards with Louis’ recovery - we had a slow morning in the apartment then took him out for a wee wander...

Monday 11 August A low key kinda recovery day to start the week - after a lovely walk out along Queen's Wharf in the sunshine, Louis and...

Sunday 10 August A glorious sunny Sunday in town. Louis still in healing mode so I went off to check out Princes Wharf & Viaduct Harbour...

Saturday 9 August A new dawn, a new day and he’s almost feeling good! Woke from a relatively short sleep after late night puzzling to a...

Friday 8 August The big day finally dawned - soggy and grey, the perfect weather to be inside all day! We packed an overnight bag for...

Thursday 7 August Due to a key-tastrophy Mairi had no way to get Lily to school so Louis took them and I looked after Finn for half an...

Wednesday 6 August A pre-op chores day - we are borrowing Ian’s apartment in town for Louis’ first week or two of recovery so after a...

Tuesday 5 August A grey day but brightened up by some lovely catching up around the motu. Took a morning wander around Beach Haven down...

Monday 4 August First full day in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland - started with a chill morning then we scooped up Helen and took her out for...

Sunday 3 August We awoke to a frost and South Island temperatures half way up the North Island! Yay for a powered POP and our fan heater!...

Saturday 2 August Up early as a lovely couple from Whakatane were meeting us at the NZMCA to buy our tow tug (a large motorised wheel...

Friday 1 August By a strange coincidence, Matt Clayton, who we had lunch with in Christchurch on Saturday, flew into Taupō on the same...

Thursday 31 July From Turangi it was a fairly short but rather bumpy drive around the east side of Lake Taupō to Taupō itself. We opted...

Wednesday 30 July From Marton we kept moving north along SH1 through Taihape (Gumboot Capital on NZ) & Mangaweka (home of the lovely...

Tuesday 29 July The day came when we left the South Island - early alarm, a scenic trip round Picton courtesy of Apple Maps thinking we...