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When I left the UK I was very concerned that the weather in New Zealand would be too hot and humid for me. Although the last two days in Milford were warmer the weather in New Plymouth has been the hottest so far on my trip and that was a dry heat. Today it didn’t rise above 21C, which is just perfect for me.

Because my cousin has been feeding me rather too well I felt a longer walk was needed this morning. I really like their house, which is built on a slope and is consequently split level. It’s what people in the UK might term a bungalow, but it is very spacious and the birds certainly love it.

I retraced my steps of the previous day. It’s amazing how much shorter things seem when you know where you are going. Very soon I was on the beach again. This time I was determined to walk the complete length of it. The sand on many beaches in New Zealand at low tide is really compacted and walking on it is just like walking on tarmac. Stanmore Bay is almost a complete semicircle with a stream at one end and cliffs at the other.

It is more than a kilometre in length. There were a few more people on the beach than yesterday possibly for two reasons; it was sunnier and it was a Saturday morning. I walked right to the cliffs at the far end and back again. On the return journey I simply had to photograph the Pohutukawas, which provide natural shelter for many people visiting the beach.

The other feature, which attracted my attention was the beautifully painted toilet block featuring the Waxeye, which I have yet to see this trip.

Most people who were there were up this end of the beach no doubt because of the amenities including a children’s playground and cycle park. The central part of the bay has rock pools so most people would swim at this end. I passed a couple of Oyster Catchers there on my return journey. I decided to take a selfie against the cliff just to prove I’d done the entire length.

By the time arrived back at Dawn’s house I’d done a pretty brisk 10k.

In the afternoon Dawn drove me down to Gulf Harbour at the end of the Whangaparaoa Peninsular. I had gone there years earlier when Auckland was preparing for the Americas Cup. It is a nice development where the sea has been allowed to come right in. Apparently Stingrays can be seen swimming there. There are a few restaurants and some very exclusive high rise developments.

We took a tour around the harbour and were fortunate to witness the arrival of the ferry from Auckland.

We returned to the restaurants for a selfie and a up of coffee. I shall really miss Dawn and George when I head of for Waihi tomorrow to spend Christmas with my cousin Mary.

My father was one of twelve children and my mother was one of seven. Consequently I ended up with rather a lot of first cousins. I counted them up one day and decided that they numbered around fifty. As with all big families and circumstances, especially World War II the ages of my cousins is very spread and some were more the ages of Aunties and Uncles. Consequently I was rather closer to a number of my second cousins; that is children of my cousins. Add to that life long friends and I certainly have a large number of people to try to see while I’m here.

Today has been an interesting day. This morning I did a walk from Dawn’s house, beginning by going down a footpath opposite the house. At the bottom you pick up a path that runs beside a stream that serves as a storm water drain. At the moment they are trying to turn it into a nature reserve.

You eventually reach a park that leads down to the beach. Every beach seems to be so well provided for with playing grounds and other facilities and look so lovely at the moment with the Pohutukawa trees. The sand was nice and firm and the beach stretched out before me.

I was suddenly caught in a squally shower and had to seek shelter under a large tree. There are some pretty magnificent properties with views out to sea.

I was delighted to see an Oyster Catcher fishing in the low tide.

After my return from my 7 kilometre walk I tried to help Dawn who was preparing for a mini cousin reunion. My cousin David and his wife Lynaire were driving down from Paparoa, which is a settlement up in Northland on the eastern side of the country In addition Dawn’s sister Diane was also coming from rather closer. It was just fabulous to see them all again. When you’ve been away for thirteen years inevitably some changes have taken place in all our lives, but it was really special to be with these cousins and partners again. This is the main purpose of my trip.

After writing my last blog yesterday my cousin Dawn took me up to Orewa for lunch. Orewa is north of Stanmore Bay with a beautiful beach. The Main Street facing the sea is full of restaurants as it has become such a popular place for the locals. We went to one which had an upstairs with a terrace looking over the coast. As all good Kiwis should do we both had a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.

After a rather interesting lunch; I ordered a Beetroot and Walnut Salad and it came back with yellow bits in it, which the waiter told me they were Yellow Beetroot, but want back for the Red; we headed off for a walk around the estuary.

The housing developments were very well laid out and the storm water drains feed into an artificial lake with a walk around it and little bridges across it

This pretty little lake is a lovely amenity for the locals who just want a gentle stroll. 

Crossing the road we began our walk on the Estuary Walk

We didn’t have time to do the whole walkway so headed towards the beach. The tide was gradually coming in, but I thought my friends in the UK would be interested to see Mangroves, which grow in the swampy conditions of the tidal mud flats. You find these in various locations in the North Island. 

On the return leg of our walk we passed some Pukekos in a field. They are also known as Swamp Hens they are found throughout Australasia. The swampy conditions of the estuary would be a perfect habitat. 

After the lovely walk we headed back to Stanmore Bay. During the night we had a thunderstorm and torrential rain. I’d forgotten how heavy it can be here. Dawn and George have bird feeders in the back garden and the birds have been coming in in their droves to eat the seeds. its been lovely to see Green Finches again. I haven’t seen them in my garden for 10 years or more. 

After a couple of quiet days my friends Barbara and Peter took me to Devonport. This is an old naval base at the bottom of the North Shore. There is a regular ferry from there to Auckland and to Waiheke Island.  The skyline of Auckland City can be seen in the background.

You can also see Auckland Harbour Bridge from the pier. This has contributed to the huge expansion on the North Shore, which is a very attractive area to live in . The beaches are so beautiful and at the moment the Pohutukawa Trees are absolutely magnificent; a particularly good year so my friends say. 

Being one of the older parts of Auckland there are some buildings dating from the late 1800s and early 1900s.  This hotel, The Esplanade was opened in June 1903.

On the other hand you find very modern buildings like this beautiful library. 

The buildings on the pier are very light and airy and feature lovely outdoor dining areas. I was quite surprised to be taken to a Turkish Restaurant. Apparently Peter is fond of the Turkish red wine, but the supply has dried up. I had a Turkish speciality from the Dessert Menu that was made of mainly filo pastry and honey. It was called Petit Four Baklava.

I was, however, pleased to see that they also had Fentimans Rose Leomonade, a favourite drink of mine in the UK. The Baklava would cost £8.60 so its not exactly cheap. 

After a lovely day in Devonport and Milford my cousin Dawn picked me up and drove me up to her house in Stanmore Bay on the edge of the Whangoparaoa Peninsular. When I lived in Auckland in the early 1970s this was all farmland. It just shows how this part of New Zealand has expanded with good infrastructure. 

I wish my friends in the UK could hear the beautiful sounds coming from outside the open doorway. It is a glorious morning and the little stream at the bottom of the garden is bubbling away. The sounds of the New Zealand birds is like nowhere else I have ever been: so clear and bell like and interspersed with British birdsong. 

I am spending today with my old school friend Sharyn and a friend of hers, Malcolm. The first port of call was to a beautiful hexagaonal building called “Tawa Glen”. It was a very peaceful setting with the most beautiful gardens. 

After eating a Neenish Tart and drinking coffee we called into see Sharyn’s sister Barbara’s garden, which they have spent years developing. Plants certainly do well in Taranaki’s fertile soil. 

From there Malcolm drove us out to  Urenui where an English lady from Dorset has started and amazing tea shop called “The Old Hall”. She has an amazing collection of hats and guests are encouraged to wear them while they are there.

They don\’t make clotted cream in Taranaki so the lady has been doing her own. Today was the first anniversary of the tea shop, which is doing rather well. 

After tucking into an assortment of delights; I had ginger and pear scone with lemon curd and clotted cream we drove back to Sharyn’s house in Bell Block. There were a couple of kilometres that I hadn’t done the previous day so I decided to complete the coastal path. Retracing the path to the velodrome I then followed it down to Bell Block Beach and around back to Sharyn’s. 

After a little relaxation Sharyn drove me to the airport where I caught a plane back to Auckland with lots of happy memories of New Plymouth. 

Today I finally caught up with my cousin Dan, who lives in New Plymouth. When I opened the door to him I thought it was my Uncle Ivan, his father, standing there. After some conversation and a bit of exploration by Dan it turned out that he used to visit the original part of the house that I am currently staying in.  After some general catch up we headed back to the coastal path, calling in at his house on the way for me to meet his lovely wife Jenifer and pick up a hat. This morning was much sunnier than yesterday so sun block etc were definitely required. We started again at the Waiwhakaio River with the beautiful bridge gleaming in the sunshine. 

Time passed easily as we walked to Bell Block constantly chatting. After a relatively short time, mostly because of the chatting we arrived at Bell Block. I was interested to see that there was a dedicated cycle track there  and apparently there is an all weather athletics track at Inglewood. 

We retraced our steps back to the bridge, stopping on the way to admire the coastline  and take a couple of photos. I was amazed to see that little penguins could be found along the coast as well as seals. 

After dropping in to see some more family in Bell Block we headed for the Len Lye Building in New Plymouth. This building is dedicated to his works and seems to particularly feature “Wands” While we were there the curator of the room turned on an exhibition of “Wand Dance”, which was quite mesmerising. I made a little video of them because a photo wouldn’t capture the effect. 

He also had some interesting shapes and combinations of textures.

Thursday afternoon was dedicated to retracing old haunts. Where I am staying is in walking distance of Pukekura Park and I was soon there. The Lake and gardens were as lovely as ever, but I was disappointed to see the high safety railings on the red bridge; health and safety taken to the extreme. The outline of Mt Taranaki could be seen in the background 

It was lovely to hear the Tui singing as I made my way to the Fernery  with all its beautiful displays.

After some peaceful time in this tranquil place I made my way to the open space at the entrance to Pukekura Park. Now a cricket ground it forms a natural amphitheater on three sides, which have been terraced.  From the age of 11 I ran here. every Tuesday night in the summer. It was then The New Plymouth Amateur Athletics Club. At the beginning I literally ran barefoot on the grass. As a small child we all gathered here for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in the summer of 1953-54. 

Next on my nostalgic tour was a visit to the now cathedral church of  Taranaki, St Mary’s. It is the oldest stone church in New Zealand. The foundation stone was laid by Bishop Selwyn in 1842. Sadly, at the moment it is closed due to the potential earthquake risk, following those in Christchurch and Kaikoura. A huge fundraising venture is underway to strengthen it to meet requirements among other ideas. The lovely colonial style vicarage, where I spent many Saturday mornings having piano lessons with the Vicar is right next door. It is in need of some TLC to bring it back to its former glory.

I was pleased to see that the iconic clock tower still stands and Devon Street looks unchanged. 

After purchasing flowers at Nicki Godwin’s, Barbara and Peter took me to the Awanui Cemetery where I laid them on my brother and father’s grave. The florist tied a black ribbon around the base and the yellow flowers represent the colours of the Taranaki Rugby Team, s sport that Rex excelled at and one my father coached. 

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I’m staying in a rather lovely Airbnb house, which I have all to myself. It was lovely to wake up to the special sounds of New Zealand birds. Nowhere else that I have ever been has birdsongs like New Zealand birds. At the bottom of the garden there is a little stream and on the other side bush, which in English is forest, but somehow New Zealand’s bush is very different with the density and the native trees. 

New Plymouth now has a coastal pathway and I was very keen to walk part of this. Peter decided he would join me on this and the friend that they were staying with drove us to the Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, which crosses the Waiwakaiho River at Fitzroy. 

This was a great starting point for our walk to a cafe, The Bach, at Ngamotu Beach.  Although the day had started grey and overcast the sun broke through and it became quite hot. We passed some beautiful New Zealand Flax on the way. As a child I used to make Palm Crosses out of this for Palm Sunday at St Marys. 

In the distance we could see the rock formation Paritutu and passed the modern Wind Wand by Len Lye.

Peter retired from the walk near Kawaroa and I continued on my on to The Bach where I arrived just as my friends drove up in the car. 

I was most surprised to see a cruise ship in the harbour and our friend informed us that there are only about four a year. 

Once we left Pirongia the next place of interest was Te Kuiti., which is in the King Country. It’s most famous claim to fame is that the rugby players, The Meads brothers came from here. There is now a museum devoted to them and a statue of Colin, described as the Rugby Player of the Century, having played for the All Blacks from 1957-1971.

Once we left Te Kuiti I had the same feeling of leaving civilisation as I had experienced in the past. From there to the end of the Awakino Gorge is very sparsely populated. 

We made a brief stop at Piopio: { I’d be fascinated to hear my English friends pronunciation of this) and was surprised to see it looking more affluent than my past memories of it. Shortly after I saw a sign post to somewhere part of ‘The Hobbit’ was filmed and all became clear. 

We had a brief stop at Mokau for me to take a photo of the inlet tidal water and then it was non stop to New Plymouth. It really is a scenic and dramatic drive with places like Mount Messenger to negotiate. I always find it disappointing that so few people from the UK choose to make this journey. 

Today Peter drove us from Milford to New Plymouth.

It was a perfect day for travel!ing, not too hot, but sunny enough fo the countryside to look at its best.  After an initial log jam in Auckland City travelling on the motorway was pretty comfortable. I was surprised to see how much more motorway there is now and also how much new motorway is under construction than there was thirteen years ago. It certainly made a lot of the drive less stressful. 

After a brief stop at the bottom of the Bombay Hills for petrol our first main stop was at Pirongia where we had lunch. While it is still a typical tiny Kiwi hamlet it had a pub depicting a pastime of the area, hunting. 

One of the sights that was a delight to see was the cows taking themselves back out to pasture after milking. It may be the breeds or a trick of the eye, but I was convinced the cows were. Smaller in stature than those in the UK