Another Weekend Away

The water really is  this incredible colour.  Driving along Highway 12 last weekend we came across this stunning scene when we looked back after passing through Opononi. It is the entrance to the Hokianga Harbour  and an area I'd like to go back and explore in more detail.

Here's a few places we visited with our friends Greg and Judy  who I met here .

We stayed overnight in the lovely little seaside hamlet of  Russell  in the Bay of Islands.

We dropped in to visit the  Mahoe Cheese  outlet and after buying several cheeses Bob kindly gave us a packet of mozzarella to take away. When I mentioned we had the beginnings of a Caprese Salad  he then gave us some basil. All we needed to find was a road stall selling tomatoes, which we did as we drove through Keri Keri .

We sampled wine at Longview Estate  and where we bought some of their Boundary Block Riesling. Our money went into this very old cash register.

On the way back to Auckland we drove through the Waipoua Forrest .  This is what a 2000 year old tree looks like.

A visit to the Bay of Islands is not complete without seeing the Hundertwasser  designed local loos.