New Zealand

Hi All,
Before I proceed just a P.S. on Tonga.
I don't think I mentioned that the people are BIG. Some men's arms are as big as my legs & one of their kings weighed over 400 lbs.!!! Big feet too.
John describes the tourism industry as in its infancy & I would describe it as embrionic!
The second morning we were at bkfst. in our Nautical B&B in Auckland a Aussie couple joined us having arrived very early that morning from Tonga. They had an outrigger business in Neiafu where we had stayed. They said that they had heard just before they left Tonga that probably on the Wed. the hotel we were staying at burned to the ground!!! There were only two large hotels in Neiafu neither one in very good repair but the one we had stayed in was in a beautiful, idylic setting. My guess is that it was arson & I wasn't alone in that thought.
Anyway we are now appreciating the difference between a 3rd world (developing) country & a 1st world country. Great to have plumbing esp. plumbing that works!!!!!
We stayed 4 nights at our B&B which was excellent. The owner took us for a 3 hour trip around the outer harbour in his 32 foot sailboat one day. Neither one of us has done much sailing. A sail on our kayak is pretty simple compared to 2 sails but we each got a chance "man the rudder".
Saw beautiful harbour views, a lovely cathedral, rose garden in full bloom & various districts, some quite quaint.
We spent one night with friends in a suburb the day before we picked up our car & then it was off the the north of the North Island.
Driving on the left!!!!! Been 33 years since I've done that.
The scenery is beautifully pastoral with rolling hills, trees, lots of green pasture & sheep & dairy cattle.
Spectacular views of the ocean & empty sandy beaches which I could catch a glimpse of when I wasn't trying to stay on the narrow very winding road. Of course we stopped & walked & ate ice cream occasionally.
We visited a very impressive site which was where the New Zealand Treaty between the Maori People & the British Crown was sighned in 1840. We had a very informative Maori guide who gave us a personal one hour tour.
Today we took a coach tour up 90 Mile Beach to the tip of the North Island. This is where the Pacific meets the Tasman Sea. The north is less populated & has more Maori influence. This is refected in the names of places & steet names in towns.
Now we're heading south from Kaitaia.
Cheers for now,
Marilyn & John