Visit to Kiwi-land

Friday was spent travelling, by shuttle bus to Auckland, and then by air to Dubai, via Brisbane and Singapore. The only point of interest (?) was the discovery - and confiscation - of a corkscrew I had inadvertently left in my backpack!

On Saturday we arrived in Dubai at 6am. Happily, the hotel allowed us into our luxurious room, and we were able to "freshen up" before meeting up with Mia, our son Rob's girlfriend, and setting off to explore the souks, the museum and the city. We enjoyed taking the abra (water taxi) across the Dubai Creek for the bargain price of 1 UAE Dirham (15p UK, 30¢ US). The ten minute "cruise" was punctuated by collisions with other abras and the shore!

Abra on Dubai Creek

Mia is spending a month in Dubai doing "bubble shows", and we were able to watch one - very good entertainment!

Mia's "bubble show" in Dubai, in aid of Autism research

Somewhat weary, we decided to skip the huge hotels and artificial islands, several miles away along the beach. Instead, we had a very nice dinner in our hotel's Gordon Ramsay (!) restaurant to celebrate our upcoming wedding anniversary.

On Friday we had an early morning swim in the hotel's rooftop pool, then a walk and another boat ride, before heading for the airport. The airline had given away the seats we had booked, and put us in the middle block. Wendy was in front of a child who alternately screamed and kicked her seat, for the whole flight - until he fell asleep, a few minutes before landing! The train took us as far as Littlehampton, but we declined the "bus link" to Chichester, and got a taxi home. We arrived tired, but happy - what a wonderful trip!!

On Wednesday, Wendy & I drove up the coast to Whangamata, on the Coromandel Peninsula. We visited Margaret, who is the sister of a friend from Bosham, and her husband Dickie. After coffee and a tour of the beautiful bay, we left them and went to an old gold-mining town called Karangahake, in a lovely gorge crossed by suspension bridges, with helpful signs which explained the process of gold mining.

The gorge in Karangahake

During the evening, we visited the "Fernland Spa", where we ended the day in bliss, soaking in warm mineral springs!

On Thursday, our last full day, we went to the lovely "Harbourside Restaurant" in Tauranga for a delicious farewell meal.

After that, we drove to some nearby beauty spots, including Te Puta, which has lovely Maori buildings, and Omokoroa, with a tree plantation on a coastal peninsula. Then back home, to pack and get ready for the "off"!

We had seen Mount Manganui in the distance when we first arrived in the area. Now we had a chance to climb it! With Louise and Ryan, we took our time climbing to the top, and enjoyed the lovely views on the way up.

View from Mount Manganui

On Tuesday morning, we collected a much improved Mike S from hospital, then set out for Hamilton. When Mike and Anna had lived in Hamilton, Mike had been the skipper of a riverboat, the "Waipa Delta". He had arranged for Wendy & Mike to have a lunchtime cruise on the boat.

The "Waipa Delta", on the Waikato River in Hamilton

We barely made it in time, as without our knowledge the departure time had been moved forward by 30 minutes! However, we had a lovely cruise, along a beautiful stretch of river. We also had an especially good meal, cooked on the plate by a hot rock!

• Factoid: New Zealand used to be very green and full of sheep. It is now less green, and there are many more cows. The rainfall has been decreasing, and cows need more water than sheep!

Having made the decision to return to Tauranga in one day, we spent most of Friday on the road, although we stopped for a nice picnic lunch beneath a railway viaduct, and visited a family memorial in the Botanic Gardens in Taupo.

The journey took about 8 hours, and we all arrived back in fairly good shape, including Mike S.

On Saturday, Mike S wasn't doing too well, so he visited the doctor, and received some more medication. The rest of us relaxed, after the previous day's long drive. Wendy & Mike W went for a 10km bike ride along the waterfront, which was lovely. Any calories expended were replaced in the form of ice cream!

On Sunday, we got up early to go to church. By the time we got back to the house, Mike S was in pain again and feverish, so Anna took him to hospital, where he was admitted. Wendy & Mike W went off to explore Tauranga, which is a lovely resort town, with a lot to see. Louise and Ryan arrived during the day, and we will enjoy spending more time with them tomorrow. Mike S responded to treatment, and was more comfortable by the evening.

The Cook Strait wasn't quite the millpond we experienced on the way down, but it wasn't too rough, and nobody was sick! Wendy & I had arranged to stay in Wellington with Rosalie and Alan. We had known them since the 1980s, when Alan spent a sabbatical year in Mike's unit in Oxford. Anna & Mike stayed with Shona, a long-time friend of Anna's. However ... during the evening, Mike (S) developed severe abdominal pain, and had to be taken to hospital by ambulance! The problem turned out to be renal colic (a 4 mm stone, no less!) - not a serious condition, but one which produces agonizing pain.

Happily, Mike improved during the night, and he was discharged on Thursday afternoon. In the meantime, Wendy, Mike (W) and Anna went to the Te Papa museum. This is one of the best museums we have ever seen, with geology, zoology, botany, culture and art. Some of the Maori exhibits, in particular, were spectacular!

A modern Maori marae (meeting house)

Because of Mike's illness, we decided to stay another night in Wellington, then drive directly back to Anna & Mike's house, instead of following the original plan, which was to spend a couple of nights in Napier.