hi guys!

hi guys!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We had a picnic at Manu bay, Raglan, watching some very brave surfers taking on some large waves then head back to see the Bridal veil falls before the sun disappeared. We dont often get pics of us together so we took advantage of having mates Rob and Kerry with us to take some.

waterfall 2

waterfall 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

bridal veil falls

bridal veil falls
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

from the top of the waterfall there is a bar and fixtures set for abseiling down the 55m drop - we thought we might leave that til Malcolm and Camilla come over at Christmas! I know they'd love to do it!

waterfall

waterfall
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

yep - there are lots of waterfalls in this country!! this is our little outing today - the 27th aug! we headed out west to Raglan beach with mates from church, Rob and Kerry, and stopped at this beautiful waterfall - Bridal Veil falls on the way back to Hamilton

skiing

skiing
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

on top of the world!

on top of the world!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

last weekend was just 'The' perfect weekend for skiing - awesome snow, brilliant sunshine - and it lasted all day long and the next!
we were very keen, arriving at the ski field car park by 7.30am and pretty much the first ones up on the chairlift at 8am!!
the view from the very top takes your breath away!
here you can see the nearby volcano - Mt Ngauruhoe

more mountains

more mountains
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Whakapapa is a great little ski resort - keeps us amused all day. With views like this, you can't help but love it!

the lake

the lake
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we head down to the ski fields as often as we can but unfortunately this weekend we had a great day skiing on the saturday followed by a dull and windy day on the sunday which closed most of the chair lifts.
the ski field is located in Tongariro national park which also has loads of great walks (tramping to the kiwis)so we decided to hunt out the local lake and spend a lazy sunday wandering around it.

lake 2

lake 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

some nice picnic spots and great views over the lake

lake walk

lake walk
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

it was a nice 2hr walk around this lake - tucked away from the main road so you wouldnt even realise it's existence. it was 2hrs of lush woodland, some big trees, and a few great picnic spots had the weather permitted!

whangamata

whangamata
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

if our photos so far have not been enough to tempt you, then maybe these next few will!

beach bum!

beach bum!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

so our weekend adventures continue!! We have wanted to come up north to the Coromandel region since we arrived after hearing that it has some beautiful beaches and apparently the best fish and chips!!
Leaving a slightly dreary saturday morning in Hamilton, we drove the hour and a half awesome scenic trip to Whangamata (pronounced 'fongamatar') and were not disappointed with the outcome! beautiful beaches almost deserted and brilliant sunshine!

beach

beach
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

just what the doctor ordered!

just what the doctor ordered!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the Coromandel is meant to be the place to be in the summer - great beaches, great surf, and great weather! it didn't look too bad to us just 10days ago in the middle of winter here!

douglas removals!

douglas removals!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

mt ruapehu 2

mt ruapehu 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So you finish work on friday, ready for a bit of a lie in on saturday morning. Well you could. Or, you could get up at 5am to start driving at 5.30 for three hours to go skiing. Does feel like a real effort, until you drive over the hills to see this. Mt Ruapehu in the sun. Then suddenly it's all worth it.

skiing!

skiing!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

how awesome!

how awesome!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So all in all a fantastic day skiing. Great snow, not too many other people about. Days like this almost leave you wanting more.

the gang!

the gang!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Here we all are in Auckland again. Gathering up the ex-pats for a sunday morning stroll. Not sure why I suggested this pose, maybe to show off new shoes.

jumping 1

jumping 1
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

brad and haze left new zealand at the end of july so we had a farewell breakfast with them and james and dizz (all the bristol possie!).
brad and haze are heading to Oz for a bit before going back to bristol in september, and will be missed

jumping

jumping
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

after many takes, we managed to get a synchronised jump!! not sure who's idea this was!!

mission bay

mission bay
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Mission Bay is a popular and beautiful bay in Auckland - great for sailing/ kitesurfing/ windsurfing. only managed a gentle stroll after our big breakfast!
great time chatting and giving some encouragement to each other before brad and haze depart.

Mt Manganui

Mt Manganui
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

What a great place to spend your day off!
Mount Manganui in Tauranga is a real hot-spot with the locals - apparently pretty busy in the summer months but a really lazy day when we went there last friday 30th july. There is a mount at the end of the spit with beaches either side. such a cool place - loads of good cafes too!

awesome!

awesome!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

sarah & julianna

sarah & julianna
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

julianna is another UK doc - we met her in our first week in Hamilton. She had just finished a week of nights too so both rob and her were taking the caffeine intravenously!

Tauranga beach

Tauranga beach
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

This is a great place with loads of trendy cafes and surf shops and because it is one side of a spit leading out into the sea, there is a beach on the other side of the road too!! this beach is the surfers beach and the other side of the road is pilot bay which is full of sailors and kite-surfers

shells

shells
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

what a beautiful day!

what a beautiful day!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We're in the middle of winter here and get this awesome spring like day - in some sheltered places it felt warm enough to be in shorts and t-shirts!

maclaren falls 2

maclaren falls 2
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

We found Maclaren falls on our way to the east coast/ Bay of Plenty region. thats the awesome thing about travelling around NZ - its not just the final destination thats worth seeing - it's all thats in between too!

maclaren falls

maclaren falls
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

After a week of nights, we headed out to the beach to keep ourselves awake with the sea breeze, and stumbled across this great little waterfall which has lots of pools popular for swimming in the summer.