January 31, 2021
We’ve had a lovely couple of days!
We packed up our little cottage in Whangarei. It was a delight to meet the owners before we left. Then we drove to Auckland. We drove down the west coast, through Helensville, but on the way, since that part of the North Island is quite skinny, we got to enjoy views of the East Coast and the West Coast. The scenery is spectacular, we like to see the Helensville Post Office, which was used as the Police Station in The NZ Detective Series, The Brokenwood Mysteries, and we thought that we would avoid some of the traffic over the Harbour Bridge. It was a gorgeous day for a drive.
We stopped in for a visit and a chat with our dear friend, Lady Jo Jephcott. Frances and Jo have known each other 46 years. It was a joy to visit in the beautiful grounds of Mercy Parklands and then to have a wee toast to friendship here and now.
Then we drove to St. Heliers to bask in the hospitality of our friends Caryll and Des. Just a lovely evening out at Amperstand (a local restaurant) and a good catch up. We left after a delicious breakfast, stopping in Tirau for lunch. We’ve stopped there before. Once we were inside the café, we said, oh yes, we’ve been here before! But the coorugated iron animal buildings are new.
We drove south to Oreti Village, near Turangi, which is where we are spending tonight. It is right on Lake Taupo, which is the largest lake in NZ, 616 square kilometers, small by comparison to the Great Lakes, but big. I think that you will agree that we lucked out. The view is spectacular. We are right on the water with ample bird life, including quail and babies.
Tonight, we are treating ourselves to dinner at the Oreti Restaurant!
