for all those gardeners out there!

for all those gardeners out there!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

courgettes nearly mature

courgettes nearly mature
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

sarah's veggie patch on 30thdec

veggie patch revisited

veggie patch revisited
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Beth, this is especially for you!
this was taken on 30/12/05 - had a good lot of rocket and lettuce so far from the garden - the runner beans and courgettes are not far behind!

the boat trip around the bays

the boat trip around the bays
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

mum and dad obviously highly accustomed to boats were loving this boat trip around the Coromandel coastline. my boss, Paul Rose, was in Hahei for the weekend and offered us a trip around the bays - it was awesome!

cave in hahei bay

cave in hahei bay
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

matt on the boat

matt on the boat
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

one of the highlights of the weekend was a boat trip around the various bays in the area, with the captain being my own boss, Paul Rose!!
it was awesome seeing the variety in landscape from limestone rocks to volcanic to rolling green hills all along the coastline

cathedral cove

cathedral cove
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we loved this beach - so cool!

rob and sarah

rob and sarah
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

it was a fun weekend away with mum, dad, matt from our church in Hamilton, and James and Dizz originally from Bristol.
this beach is cathedral cove which was a 45min walk from our beach at Hahei

swimming in december

swimming in december
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

some brave ones were enjoying the cool waters!

the brinds + 1 on the beach

the brinds + 1 on the beach
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

the parents have landed!
mum and dad and robs parents decided to join us for the month of December so we wouldnt get too lonely over christmas.
mum and dad landed on 2nd dec and after a few hours in hamilton freshening up, we loaded the car up to go to the beach for the weekend - what better way to get over jet lag than lazing on a beach!
we stayed in a friends family bach (thats holiday home to all non-kiwis!) right on the beach at Hahei on the Coromandel penninsula.
it was fantastic weather the whole weekend - just what we'd ordered!

view from hahei

view from hahei
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

there were some beautiful lookouts along the way to Cathedral cove beach. numerous limestone islands lie along the shoreline of the coromandel

the beach in december

the beach in december
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

after an invigorating walk through the bush to Cathedral Cove, time to chill out on the beach was just what we needed

delicious hangi food!

delicious hangi food!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

hangi food typically consists of large chunks of root vegetables - kumara, potato, carrot, a couple of joints of meat - we had a chicken thigh and pork chop each, and the delicious cabbage!
we were warned about the food prior to our first hangi and it was actually better than we were expecting but not something i'd repeat in a hurry!
great to have the experience though

the traditional meal in not so traditional containers!

the traditional meal in not so traditional containers!
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

we had a bit of a 'posh' hangi where the food was beautifully arranged in these foil containers so stopping alot of the mud getting in to the food! not quite the way the traditional maori guys would have done it years ago but a bit more civilised!

lifting the Hangi

lifting the Hangi
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

lifting the hangi is quite an event that everyone gathers around for - it is rather like exuming a body if you ask me!

Hangi at Raglan

Hangi at Raglan
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

sorry guys! been a bit slow with the old blog in the last few weeks since parents(x2)arrived in the country.
this is a traditional Maori meal we had with our church at the end of November called a Hangi.
basically what happens is a large hole is dug in the ground in the morning, a fire lit in the hole then rocks or pieces of railway tracks are placed on the fire which retain the heat. food is placed in cages over the top then covered in flax/cloth and buried underground for at least 6-8hrs.
the result? - a pretty foul tasting meal - very bland with a slight smoky/muddy flavour! but a great experience all the same

Sarah

Napier 148
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

..by all!

Rob

Napier 147
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

..was had..

Matt

Napier 119
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

A fine time..

Craggy Range

Napier 002
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Also the area is pretty flash for food. Craggy range is a nice place where we had a great meal - so much we now affectionately refer to the place as Scraggy Mange.

The bottles

Napier 050
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Every drop filled with sunshine

The fields

Napier 110
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

Lots of ripe grapes waiting.

Mission Estate

Napier 045
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

The other is wine, as this area has more sunshine than any other part of the country, combined with cool off sea breazes and whatever soil type makes vintners babble on about nutty-woody undertones.

The old wineries are great fun. They sort of serve as stately homes for the country - as have been around for a long time and visited lots by tourists.

Napier

Napier 020
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

The area is famous for several things. One being the Art Deco architecture from the 1930-1940's.

Napier - Art Deco

Napier 029
Originally uploaded by douglasnz.

So a few weekends ago, we escaped early on a Friday and headed east to Napier