Tauranga Bay, Whangaroa, Northland

The late afternoon and evening was spent on Tauranga Bay beach.  Soft sand, warm water, and waves.

 Tighe and Quinn played football in the surf.

Tighe with Stephenson Island in background

At one end of the bay, rocks were covered in lichen.  I am guessing seabirds make deposits here, and this creates the different colours of lichen.

Waiting for the sun to go down

Exploring the Bay - Part Two - The Mount

 The conditions were perfect for walking up Mt Maunganui.  The path gently winds around the hill.

 Great views of the bay, and the blues were all different.

 The view at the top is always fabulous, and Papamoa beach beckoned for the afternoon.

 I was suprised that the pohutukawa was still in flower.

 I always like these rock formations, and today a base jumper opened his parachute just above us.

The steep steps down to the beach.  The water fountain at the bottom was really useful, and we all filled up our water bottles before heading off to Papamoa beach.

Exploring the Bay - Part one The Waterfall

 

 Waterfalls, Mountains, and Beaches, all in one day.

 First on the list was Kaiata Falls, at Welcome Bay, Tauranga.  The urchins explored the stream and managed to stay dry.

 The urchins like how the rocks have been eroded by the water.

 A quick walk down the steeps to the waterfall.  Some hardy children were swimming.  It was too cold for my urchins.

Rarotongan Holiday

The tail end of Winter, cold and wet, in Rotorua, so we are off to Raro for a week of fun, rest and snorkelling.  Erik says he will do some walks. I am just going to enjoy the sun and 24 degrees.  We arrived at Rarotonga at midnight, so the children had no idea what to expect when they woke up in the morning.  Sunshine!

Tighe's and Oscar's first flight - 4 hours to Raro from Auckland

Puiakura Reef, 100m from the house - perfect

Papaya for breakfast!

Where we spent most of the holiday.... snorkelling!