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The bus trip from Hastings to Palmerston North, where I was catching the bus to Hawera was quite dramatic as we climbed up over the Saddle Road, now the main route since the Manawatu Gorge was closed due to slips. As well as the Native Bush there is a Wind Farm and you get very close to the turbines on the road.

The bus driver took it pretty steadily and after passing through small towns and over a river we arrived in Palmerston North. It was a beautiful day and I was able to leave my luggage in a locker. I had been chatting to another lady so we headed off to the coffe shop for some lunch.

The bus for New Plymouth eventually arrived and I enjoyed reminiscing on the journey up to Hawera, passing through Wanganui, where I used to sprint in races as a teenager, and Waitotara valley, which I always thought was particularly beautiful.

I knew I was finally in Taranaki when Mt Taranaki, which was totally clear suddenly appeared, I made some fruitless attempts to photograph it through the window so when I arrived in Hawera my cousin Doug, who was there to meet me drove me to an excellent place for a photo.

This morning I did a 5K walk up to King Edward Park and back. On the way I passed my Uncle Harold’s old house where I had stayed a number of times over the years.

In the afternoon Doug drove me and Merrilyn over to his brother -in-law Jimmy. We transferred cars and Jimmy drove us to one of my favourite childhood places, Lake Mangamahoe. The lake was absolutely alive with Canada Geese along with some ducks and Black Swans. I wanted to capture Mt Taranaki above the Lake. It really is a beautiful sight.

From there we drove to New Plymouth where we were having a family catch-up not far from where I lived nearly all my childhood. It looks almost the same; my room was at the front, and the Hibiscus my mother planted was flowering beautifully.

My cousin Paul had invited us to his home in Tukaupa Street and had fetched his elderly Mother, Aunty Stella. It was lovely to see her. It wasn’t a huge gathering, but still a lovely opportunity to catch up.

After a lovely afternoon we headed back for Hawera. On the way, just before Stratford, Merrilyn pointed out that it was possible to see Mt Ruapehu in the distance, because it was such a clear day. To anyone who didn’t know it would appear as a funny cloud, but it is indeed the big mountains by Taupo.

As we passed through Normanby Doug stopped the car so I could photograph my grandparents’ home in Normanby. It’s amazing to think that twelve children were raised there. We had lived there briefly when I was three years old.

In the early evening my cousin Brian, who couldn’t attend the reunion called to see me. Followed by Doug’s daughter-in-law and their five girls. I feel very blessed to have so much family in this beautiful country.

My first impressions of Hastings were that it is very flat and very hot. It was 31C when I arrived on January 2nd and 32C yesterday. I managed an early morning walk to Cornwall Park, which is about 1K from where I’m staying with Christine, an old school and University friend. It is a pretty tree lined park with a Japanese garden at one end and some nice flower beds. There is also a little lake with a fountain and many, many ducks and a few geese.

After a 5K walk I was back at Christine’s. It was already so hot that we decided to conserve our energy for the next day. Consequently we spent most of the day catching up on our lives during the past 30 years since we last met.

The next day I returned to Cornwall Park and increased my walk to 7.5K. I knew I was being taken sightseeing by Colin, a friend of Christines later in the morning so wanted to keep my walking up. On the walk this time I came across a woman carrying a bucket, which was clearly food for the ducks as they were all waddling after her.

Colin arrived late morning and we set off on a drive through Havelock North. This area looks pretty affluent with lots of tree lined streets. The Jacaranda originally from South America, but now popular in many countries, were currently flowering and make a beautiful sight.

Colin drove us to a church, which is now deconsecrated and is used as an art shop and restaurant. The owner is from Zimbabwe and you can see the African designs hanging on the walls.

Next to the restaurant there is an ice cream shop followed by a Lolly Shop. I have never known anywhere else compare with the sweets you can buy in New Zealand. This shop was a child’s paradise and one for a rather “old child”. I bought three old favourites: Chocolate Fish, which have marshmallow inside; Pineapple Chunks, chocolate coated pineapple flavoured sweets; and what were once called “Jaffas”, but now have to be called “Orange Chocolate Balls”.

After this delightful interlude Colin drove us around various Life Style Properties on the outskirts of Havelock North. At one place with a sizeable pond I saw Plovers, Pukekos and a Grey Heron.

The area around Havelock North, in addition to vineyards, grows apples and olives. We passed a number of orchards and olive groves.

Colin then drove us up a steep hill, Te Mata Peak, which narrows as you reach the summit. From the top you have spectacular views around Hawke’s Bay, looking down on the Heretunga Plain. There is also a trig point with a map pointing out various features such as the mountain ranges of which there are a number.

As we were returning to our car, I spotted a little bird that looked a bit unusual. I now know it is the New Zealand Pipit, which is endemic to New Zealand. (thank you Barry Christiansen)

Colin was quite keen to see a ship he had sailed on last year leave the Port of Napier so we set off for there. On the way Colin asked if I’d like a cup of coffee. As my answer was the affirmative we pulled into a rather unusual coffee bar. It is basically a shack by a river on the Red Bridge Winery with a Portaloo at the back. It does, however, make the most beautiful coffee.

From there Colin drove us up Bluff Hill from where we had an excellent view of the Port of Napier. We watched as the pilot boat went out and the tugs manoeuvred themselves into position ready for the departure of the Regal Princess  

It was a very varied and informative day about an area of New Zealand, which I have never visited before.

On the morning I was leaving Waihi, January 2, we all arose pretty early in the morning and Kelvyn drove us through to Tauranga hoping to beat the traffic. He was successful in this and Mary and I had time for a little walk along Tauranga Harbour. This was very useful as my bus trip, following the grey route was over 6 hours long.

The tide was in the harbour and the area deserted so it was very peaceful.

The bus was only a few minutes late and we set off for Mt Manganui, out on the coast from Tauranga, where we picked up a load more passengers. A very chatty young girl, aged 17 (so she told me), sat next to me. Apparently Mt Manganui is the place to party on New Year’s Eve; she and nine friends had come up from Wellington for it. This year the police banned any consumption of alcohol on the beach and in many beaches in New Zealand. She said “we just tanked up beforehand”. She made some entertaining company between Mt Manganui and Taupo.

The next stop was Rotorua. On the way in we passed the airport, which was one of the first places I learned to fly a plane many years ago.

After a brief stop in Rotorua we set off for Taupo. There were some interesting buildings in Rotorua and it looks a thriving place.

As you approach Taupo you cross over the Waikato River, which arises from the slopes of Mt Ruapehu and flows into Taupo and drains out at the Huka Falls. We passed these and the geothermal activity at Wairakei on our way into Taupo.

Taupo is a very beautiful Lake, but the town is very busy these days. The bus stopped here for thirty minutes. The driver, who was a bit of a joker warned the young girls that they had only ten minutes before the Wellington bus left and not to to try to buy any food. I saw them a little later; they had all missed the bus. Anxious not to miss mine I dashed down to the Lakeside. I could see that Mt Ruapehu, Mt Ngarahoe and Mt Tongariro were in and out of cloud and looked beautiful as a back drop to the Lake. Unfortunately it was on the behind cloud phase when I took my photo.

For the next hour the drive from Taupo was not so interesting until it suddenly changed as we approached the series of Mountain Ranges that divide the East Coast from the centre of the North Island. While New Zealand roads are windy at the best of times this was something else; the hills on the sides of the road rose steeply and were covered in Native Bush. The Titokura Saddle at about 2,200ft is the high point and then the road descends, with some minor ups and downs to the Esk Valley. It is extremely scenic, but very difficult to capture from the window of a moving bus.

The road gradually descends and opens out and it is possibly to see beautiful vistas stretching into the distance.

Hawke’s Bay is famous for its wine growing and as the road became flatter I started to see vineyards.

The bus arrived in Napier about 20 minutes late and I was delighted to be met by my children’s Aunty, Judy. On the way to her place she took me to a mission house, run by Marist Brothers, which is now a winery and offers a nice panorama.

From there we went to her flat, which is on the side of her daughter’s house. Very soon I was sitting down to a nice cool glass of water and of course a glass of wine.

After a good catch up sitting in the shade; Napier was around 30C and I was told Hastings was even hotter; Janet drove me to my friend Christine’s house in Hastings. With these temperatures its easy to see why it is such a good region for Wine.

I’ve spent seven days in Waihi interspersed with two nights in Whangamata. It has been a wonderful time enjoying both family and the scenery. Today for my last day Mary was keen that I should do some walks in the Karangahake Gorge. There are a number of walks through the old mine tunnels and railway tracks.

Today was one of those perfect mornings when the sun rises in a cloudless sky. The forecast was for 23C and as we were largely in tunnels and bush it seemed like the ideal day for the gorge. Mary drove me to a carpark after breakfast and we set off at first on the “Windows” circuit.

We were combining two walks; “Windows”, which was where gaps were cut into the tunnels of the mines to allow air and light in and Tunnel or Tramway, which had once been a train route. Some of the views of the Gorge were spectacular and there was an amount of up and down steps.

We returned to our starting point and set off on the “Tunnels Walk”. At one point we were right down by the river and the path was quite wet and slippery, and not ideal for passing walkers coming from the other way. After a climb up we came to the tunnel entrance; the tunnel itself is a kilometre long.

On completing this walk, which took us back to the bridge we had crossed at the start of the first walk we returned to the car and Mary drove us up to the Waikino Railway Station, where we were fortunate enough to see the train full of walkers and cyclists who had come from Waihi Station, because they hadn’t wanted to cycle the extra distance. The station itself reminded me of the one in Delamere Forest, Cheshire, with its lovely cafes and dining room.

After a cup of coffee we set off to look at the old pump house and Kilns. There had been houses in Waikino until relatively recently when they were washed away in a flood. We climbed up to the old kilns, which had been left derelict until recently when conservationists set about preserving what was left. `I could only be horrified by what the workers had been expected to do, the dangerous materials they were working with and the depth of the kilns.

we retraced our steps and after a walk through some beautiful native bush we came to the waterfall, which was cascading beautifully in the sunshine.

We retuned to Mary’s for some lunch then when it was a bit cooler set off on our third walk. Mary lives on Reservoir Road and the road does indeed lead up to a reservoir. The walk through the bush was beautiful particularly as the light was so good. I became very distracted trying to photograph a Tui without success, We followed a lovely stream for most of the way and had to cross it at one point.

We ran out of time to go any further and had to quickly return to Mary’s to change for an evening meal at a restaurant to celebrate our last night together. This was rather Spanish in style with a German man and a Turkish lady providing the menu. Some of the food was quite unusual but very tasty. It was all a fabulous way to spend my last day and evening here.

On New Year’s Eve day my cousin Mary and husband Kelvyn decided to take me through to Omahu where my mother, Ruth and her father, Fred, lived as children. Mary thinks our Grandfather had worked at a saw mill, possibly in Tairua and possibly later in farming. We had to turn off to the right from the Paeroa to Thames road and head up a narrow road towards the Coramandel Range. The original house at Omahu has been replaced with another, but the one there now is still a pretty old house.

I have a photo of myself as a very young child paddling in the creek and I was very keen to try to locate the place in the photo. The property doesn’t belong to our family any more so I had to content myself with taking what photos I could. The creek apparently opens out into a pool below the house.

Kelvyn drove us a bit deeper into the Coromandel Range and it was easy to picture how dense the bush must have been there once. The original house had been leased to our ancestors because at some point in time, possibly my Great Grandfather had worked in the mines, so it had been a miner’s cottage.

My mother often used to describe how she and Fred would ride to school at Puriri on horse back, so our next point for exploration was the Puriri School.

Mary and I wandered around the grounds and spoke to some young men who were letting their children ride a go kart around the school playing field. They had both attended the school and were fascinated to hear about our parents going there. The school buildings have been modernised, but the young men were telling us that the school role had dropped from 100 pupils in their day to 14 children currently. Like a number of country schools it might be a struggle to keep it going, which would be a shame for a school, which is 150 years old and built to accommodate the children of Gold Miners, Saw Millers and Farmers.

Behind the school is a magnificent old Puriri Tree and I couldn’t help wondering if this was how the name for the school and the small hamlet had been created.

After this quite emotional trip we returned to Waihi to get ready for a little New Year’s Eve party at the house of some friends of Mary and Kelvyn. The wife, Frouwke, is from The Netherlands and had prepared a Dutch treat, Oliebollen, which is a type of Doughnut they only prepare on New Year’s Eve. It was a nice lead up to the New Year.

A more recent development since I left New Zealand in 1973 has been the “The Life Style Blocks”. These are small holdings where people can try to live off the land. They are around 12 acres in size and the idea is to run a few livestock on them and plant lots of vegetables. As my country cousins say, it appeals to “townies” who have enough money to buy one and want to experience country living. Apparently some on them don’t have a clue how to manage the land and either need to hire someone to look after it for them or the land deteriorates. My cousin David, who was a farmer, now manages six “Life Style Blocks” plus one of his own.

My cousin Tina, short for Christina and her husband Steve own one on the outskirts of Waihi. After some initial guidance they are now managing theirs pretty well. Their house is really beautiful with a deck running around three quarters of the property. It is just beautiful to sit out on the deck and look at the scenery and the young male calves that Tina calls “her boys”.

Tina invited me to stay last night and her cousin Val, who is my second cousin, and husband Phil came across to join us for a BBQ. While sitting on the deck I happened to catch sight of one of New Zealand’s iconic birds, the Fantail, which flew down and perched on a pot. The tail fans out, hence the name Fantail.

It was such a lovely evening that we sat out all night eating meat raised on the “Block” The meal itself was preceded with the now familiar cheese and wine. New Zealand now produces a huge range of cheeses; Brie, Camembert, New Zealand Blue and Cheddar to name but a few. Either Brie or Camembert seem to be the favoured cheese for these pre dinner nibbles.

Another aspect of New Zealand living that has fascinated me is the design of the kitchens. Instead of cupboards the newer houses or kitchens mostly have pull out drawers where you put all your crockery and pots and pans. I was hunting for the rubbish bin under the sink like I have, but no, in Kiwi kitchens they are hidden away in pull out drawers. I must say it is a far better system for someone with a bad back and much easier to organise your pots and pans in particular. Tina has a beautiful kitchen and my cousin Mary has one made out of Rimu wood with a Kauri work surface., two of New Zealand’s native trees. Hopefully some of these ideas might catch on in the United Kingdom.

After Christmas is the time when many New Zealanders go to their home by the beach. The name for these is bach, but the vast majority o,f them these days are pretty impressive homes. The price of land is at a premium and many of the little old wooden shacks have been been pulled down and replaced with beautiful modern homes. This was particularly apparent at Whangamata, which has grown into a pretty substantial town. Whiritoa on the other hand had only one shop and retains some of that original character. Both places are lovely in different ways, but Whangamata is a real adventure playground for children and adults alike.

My cousin Janice and her husband Barry picked me up from Mary’s house and drove me out to their house at Whiritoa. It is purpose built to accommodate a number of family members and I was soon sitting on the deck and enjoying a cup of tea and more Kiwi home baking.

After morning tea we set of for the beach, which is a short walk from the house. The tide was well in so they decided to swim in the lagoon. This looked reasonably inviting to me and rather safer than the breakers on the main beach.

It was shallow enough to stand up in but still deep enough for a good swim or splash about. After the swim and a little sunbathe to dry off Barry asked me if I’d like to walk along the beach. About a third of the way along I suddenly exclaimed in delight “Dotterel” as the little birds scampered along the beach in front of us. I had seen them a number of years ago in a protected area, but never as close as this.

We headed back home for lunch and after a bit of a siesta Barry drove me up to Whangamata to stay with my cousin Howard and his wife Dianne. They had changed the old bach of their parents to a new purpose built house, which was handily placed for the boat marina.

I arrived quite late in the afternoon, but was amazed at how busy it was. There was a reasonably substantial shopping centre. It was great to have a good catch up, but after dinner I was quite keen to walk about, feeling very full from both morning and afternoon tea plus lunch and dinner, which seems to be the hospitable kiwi way. Another new tradition is eating cheese with a drink of wine before dinner. I’ve certainly devoured a good amount of Brie cheese before dinner along with New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Dianne was keen to walk with me so we set off along the beach. It stretches for miles, or so it seems.

We called into where Dianne’s son was staying and after a brief chat returned through the streets, which was a bit quicker. Even so we must have done a good 8k.

The next day was so wet there was nothing else to do but sit, chat and eat. The afternoon was a bit brighter so we headed down to the harbour. There are an amazing number of boats there.

The harbour was dredged out and purpose built. There is some wealth in these boats. The sun gradually appeared as we walked through town and came to another place where the children do”water bombing”, which consists of jumping off the pier into the water and presumably making as big a splash as possible. It certainly keeps them entertained at high tide. We were looking for Dianne’s grandson, but couldn’t find him. He called later and managed to find himself in one of my photos.

Whangamata is very well equipped with skate board parks in addition to all the water sports: certainly wonderful for children.

Later in the afternoon one of Howard and Dianne’s son, Kevin called round followed by his son. We had a great chat followed by dinner. Dianne had made another kiwi speciality, Bacon and Egg Pie. The following morning Howard and Dianne drove me back to Waihi.

Today was one of those days when everything about it is pretty perfect. I awoke today to a promising sunny day and set off on a brisk walk with Mary and Kelvyn at 7am. We went a different route, which was through the back streets of Waihi and into town because Mary had to post some mail. Waihi is an old mining town and they have recently celebrated their heritage with a series of bronze statues depicting the lives of the people during those mining days.

From there we climbed up to the old pump house where you have an excellent view of the old mine pit. There has been a slip there in recent years and it is now fenced off . The sides of the fence were covered in poppies in commemoration of all the tunnellers from the mines who went to the First World War to construct the tunnels, because of their experience in the mines.

I followed Kelvyn and Mary on a track that goes round the rim of the mine until we eventually branched off and made our way home.

From then on it was full steam ahead for the preparations for the family reunion on my mother’s side, named Porteous, taking place that afternoon. The sun was now shining brightly so Kelvyn sorted out all the seating and cover while Mary and I did last minute preparations with the food. From late morning on various family members began to arrive. There were squeals of delight and hugs as I caught up with some cousins I hadn’t seen for over 50 years. Everybody brought some food to put on the table and in the end there was a magnificent feast.

I gorged myself on corn beef, which Mary’s sister Jenny had brought. This is quite different from the UK concept of Corn Beef. It is proper beef, which is pickled then cooked in a special way. It is absolutely delicious.

After we had all had our fill of food and cleared away it was time to take some photos. I’d happily snapped away from the start. My cousin Cathy arranging flowers from Mary’s garden was rather lovely.

We then took some group photos. There were seven first cousins and three second cousins along with their spouses. My three second cousins all had the same grandmother, Irene, but each had different parents. She had four children, two boys and two girls.

My cousin Howard, who was the only male first cousin there, had done some research on the Porteous ancestry and showed me a picture of the Porteous tartan that his son had managed to trace.

We finished the day with a series of record photos including several of just the seven first cousins.

A very special day.

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From the moment I descended from the bus in Waihi the rain started. It increased in intensity and was very heavy on Christmas Eve, so much so, in fact, that campers had to be evacuated from Waihi Beach. It is 11.3 kilometres from Waihi to Waihi Beach, which is very popular with people who enjoy the sun and surf. My cousin Tina had asked me to play at both the Midnight Service on Christmas Eve and the 9.30 service on Christmas Day at the local Anglican Church, St John’s.

The interior is lovely and had candles on top of each pew in preparation for the evening service.,which was to be lit only with the candles. I was relieved to learn I’d have a light over the piano. Tina was singing a work from the Messiah at the 9.30 service so we had a good practice of that and I played through the carols. Getting into the church for the Midnight Service was quite challenging as the rain was so heavy the path to the entrance was a running stream. Once inside the church looked beautiful.

The service went well and the congregation braved the elements to attend. My cousin Mary and her husband Kelvyn came and at the end of the service a lady approached me and introduced herself as my cousin Wendy from my father’s side of the family. It was quite a special occasion to have four cousins from both sides of the family together at the service.

The rain had subsided a bit by Christmas Morning so getting into church was easier. Christmas lunch was a very pleasant affair. Mary had invited three other people and it was a lovely meal. Two of the things that I really enjoyed doing were shelling the peas from Mary’s garden and slicing her Runner Beans. We had this with cold lamb, potatoes and salad. It is really strange to be eating a meal like this when my family in the UK will be tucking into turkey in the cold weather. Dessert was fruit salad and pavlova rather than Christmas pudding. Later in the afternoon the weather had improved sufficiently for us to go for a walk. Kelvyn took us round some country roads then down a track that was by the old mine. There was a Tui in the flax, which I tried to photograph. The trouble with grey skies is that it is hard to see the colours on birds.

Boxing Day morning the weather was showing signs of sunshine and I decided to go for an early morning walk, retracing the route of the previous day. The sun was shining through the bush on the path and looked just perfect.

As I returned to Mary and Kelvyn’s house I couldn’t help but admire it with its beautiful garden. The architecture is so different from any houses I’ve seen in Great Britain.

In the afternoon my cousin Wendy arrived to take me out to Waihi Beach. She took me for a scenic drive to Anzac Bay in Bowen Town, which is beyond Waihi Beach. The views from the top of the hill were stunning.

We returned to Waihi Beach after Wendy had discovered that the place she was planning to take me to for lunch was closed. I found it amazing that on Boxing Day such a beautiful beach should have so few people on it.

We found another place to eat, where I enjoyed a nice lunch of couscous salad and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc.

Wendy drove me round to her house to meet her husband Barry and daughter Caroline, where she produced some beautiful home cooked cakes and biscuits, which were too delectable to refuse. I started with the Ginger Crunch then moved onto the Lollipop Cake. New Zealand women are such great bakers and the selection is so much more varied than in England, well at least in Chester.

People in Waihi certainly have a great quality of life.

I was really sad to bid farewell to Dawn and George and their extended family, but the time had come to move on and I was looking forward to seeing my cousin Mary and husband Kelvin and my cousin Tina, all of whom live in Waihi. I also have a cousin, Wendy on my father’s side of the family living there.

The bus was a double decker sleeper, although there were no sleeping places provided, but the seats were rather plush.

We made a rather lengthy stop at Manukau City, south of Auckland to pick up more passengers. The coach was soon very full. Sitting upstairs gave a great view of the countryside, but I was quite affected by the constant rocking. We turned East at the bottom of the Bombay Hills and headed towards Thames. My mother had grown up in this area. On the way you drive over the very flat diary farming land of the Waikato Plains. A number of rivers flow out here into the Firth of Thames.

After a short stop in Thames to offload passengers; a shuttle bus runs from here up the Coromandel Peninsular; we headed up the windy road that runs through Puriri where my mother and her brothers went to school on horseback. It intersects with the main road to Waihi at Paeroa, which is known for the drink, Lemon and Paeroa. I was amazed by how much this town and Thames had grown.

You can still see a number of examples of the type of wooden houses, which are typical Colonial architecture.

Between Paeroa and Waihi lies the dramatic Karangahake Gorge. The road twists and turns as it follows the Ohinemuri River. It is one of the two main routes through the Kaimai Ranges., which separates Waikato from The Bay of Plenty. This area and Waihi were the main areas for Gold Mining, which began in 1875. It is now possible to cycle all the way along the disused railway line from Waihi to Thames. The gorge itself has spectacular scenery and I took a large number of photos in spite of the rain. I thought the bridges were very fascinating.

The whole area is full of the beautiful native bush with lovely examples of Ponga Trees, the source of New Zealand’s Silver Fern, an unofficial national emblem.

Approaching the centre of Waihi we passed the Rob Roy Hotel, which is a magnificent example of Colonial Architecture. As the bus pulled in forty-five minutes late I saw my cousin Mary waiting for me.