Evee

From Rotorua, I took the direct route back to Auckland, dropped off the car and went back to Titirangi to spend my last day in NZ with Margaret and the boys, well, Margaret really, as the boys were off working at the boatyard. Margaret and I drove down to one of the bays along the bottom of the cliff they live at the top of, for a picnic lunch, and I took a walk along to the yacht club building just to stretch the legs.

That bit of hill beside the yacht club is pure sand!

It's a shame there are still so many of these and telegraph poles with wires overhead in NZ. I think we are lucky at home that so many of these sorts of cables are now underground!

I spent the rest of the day mainly in the kitchen with Margaret, sitting at the table in the window, sorting out and cutting out pictures from magazines and brochures that were all too heavy to carry home in their entirety! I just adore this kitchen. It's not your average fitted kitchen but has been designed and built by Mike and Chris to fit the family's needs. This is where I picture them all, now that I am back home, and it's where I photographed the three of them before I left - see below.

From the window on the right I was amazed one night to see way in the distance the lights of Sky Tower in the centre of Auckland - about 10 miles away. At 328 metres it is the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere, and you can see it from Margaret's kitchen window!!!

It's in the dip between bushes slightly left of centre. Again, clicking on the photo will enlarge it!

So here are a couple of pics I took before I left for the airport and my plane to Aus! The first is of the three of them getting organised for a photo! "You're sitting on my waistcoat," says Margaret so Chris tries to sort things out!

The second one Mike must have said something and Margaret looked up!

I do love this family! The "boys" are as cheeky as hell to me at times, and apparently Chris enjoys taking off my accent, according to his mother - but I secretly love that he does it! Just wish I'd heard him!

Pat and husband Eric came to see me off at Auckland airport - hadn't seen Eric since 1999 - and at the other end, back in Melbourne, Win and two of her kids, Bill and Stephanie, were there to meet me!

It was so nice to see them all again! I first met Win in Scotland when I was about 2, and have seen her several times since then. Bill spent a while in York about 20+ years ago when I was living in the Yorkshire Dales, so we saw each other quite often, and even went youth hostelling together in Derbyshire once! Steph and I have seen less frequently but it's like we know each other well! We all had a lovely evening together.

Bill now has a family of three and Steph has her two boys, so plenty of young cousins to come travelling one of these days!

Well, I've had a few problems uploading photos tonight so I am just going to call it a day now.

Off to Adelaide next time!

Talk again soon.