We are now two weeks into the NZ part of the trip and are thoroughly enjoying being campers again. \u00a0Our camper seems a big bugger even though it is only a metre longer than the one we owned. \u00a0Robin has found driving it easy as it is a Mercedes, the controls of which we are used to. \u00a0It has many driver assist features including a backup camera, blind spot warnings, but no \u201cpark assist!\u201d \u00a0Internally it is very comfortable and quite well equipped and we sleep well. \u00a0The campsites here are so well organized, providing industrial type fully equipped kitchens with a covered dining area. \u00a0We have often been sharing them with trampers, young people the age of our grandchildren. \u00a0I met an Austrian kid in Hamilton who had plans to walk all the way to Invercargil!.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been wonderful leaving grey, dark, cold Victoria and arriving here to warmth and colour. \u00a0The magnolias are in full bloom as are the jacarandas and the \u00a0pohutucawas, NZ Christmas trees, are just about to flower in all their scarlet glory. \u00a0The verges are a riot of colour with agapanthus, coltsfoot and ranga lilies. \u00a0The hillsides are a tapestry of tea trees, tree ferns and phormiums. \u00a0There seem to be way more cattle than sheep now and the dairy herds have three different breeds of cattle to provide the desired amount of butter fat in the milk.<\/p>\n

This trip we are not breaking new ground, rather revisiting our favourite haunts. \u00a0After a couple of days in the Auckland area we headed East to the Coromandel Peninsula where we went to Paranui, where we have had two house exchanges. \u00a0 After a quick detour south to Hamilton, we stayed three nights in the Bay of Islands, probably our very favourite destination. \u00a0We were first there in 1980 with Ian and Andrew en route to visiting family in Australia and again with Don and Meg joining them in celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. \u00a0It did not disappoint as we took the ferry to Russell and then spent \u00a0a day in Kerikeri, visiting the historical sites and marvelling at how much it had morphed into a real foodie destination. \u00a0Waipu is another favourite as it was the final destination for a religious group from Scotland, who settled first in Nova Scotia. \u00a0The harsh climate eventually got to them and they set sail to New Zealand. \u00a0The benign climate must have seemed like Paradise and their descendants have settled the area.<\/p>\n

We have not visited as many gardens as we had hoped being unlucky in the dates of the charity garden tours. \u00a0We did visit Ayrlies and were \u00a0lucky enough to meet Jaqueline, the daughter of the owner Bev McConnell, who we met on a previous visit and is now 92, and still living on the property. \u00a0The garden is \u00a0amazing, with the rock work and water features, but, we felt, in need of of a major overhaul. \u00a0Hamilton Gardens did not disappoint as three new theme gardens had \u00a0been added since our last visit. \u00a0We also \u00a0visited two private gardens, which were made all the more interesting as, in each case, we had a personally conducted tour lasting over an hour.<\/p>\n

On to Australia on the weekend!<\/p>\n

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