"Camping"?

Last week we stayed in a motel room in a camp ground in Doubtless bay. Because Mum and Dad were worried about getting rained out.

On Tuesday we slept in till 12, had pancakes for breakfast and made plans to go for a walk.

We went to Matai Bay, the beach was very long. We walked all the way to the end were there were lots of pebbles and stinky seaweed.

Then we came across a creek, luckily it was very shallow. There were also some large rocks we could use to cross without soaking through our shoes and socks.

From there, we walked along a track up a hill. The journey up the hill was long and tiring. In some places the path was very narrow and there were tree roots and tree trunks to trip you. There was also lots of nasty gorse and cutty grass everywhere.

The path got steeper after a while and it became very dry and it was challenging to find footholds. At this point you are practically climbing up the hill although the view at that part is amazing. What we saw from the top was even more breathtaking - you could see the sea, the beach and even distant islands.

By the time we got to the carpark we were exhausted as we had walked almost 6km.

By Emma

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Whatuwhiwhi, Northland, New Zealand

Waiheke trip

A couple of weeks ago we went to Waiheke to visit Graham, a friend of Mum and Dad's. They met him at university and lives in California but was staying in Waiheke at the time.

He drove us to where his mum was staying. At about 9:00 we got our stuff and went down to a beach. We went for a swim and then got ice creams but it was so hot that I went back in the water. The water was refreshing and Zak tried to dunk Mum in but Mum managed to stop him.

We then had lunch at the house. We had bread, ham, tomato, lettuce, honey, iced fruitcake and scones for lunch. The view from up there was beautiful, you could see the boats in the water and the people on the beach.

Shortly after lunch we went to another beach which was near the east end of the island and quite windy. We passed a soccer ball between us for a while then we went swimming again. Zak and I attempted to body surf. I was the last one in the water and when I eventually got out I was freezing cold. We then went for hot chocolates at a cafe near by. We really enjoyed Waiheke Island.

By Emma

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Waiheke Island, New Zealand