"Good water, good life; poor water, poor life; no water, no life" Sir Peter Blake


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Kawau Island, Hauraki Gulf

Our plan to escape the marina and head out on the boat over the Easter break didn’t happen because the weather was a bit “iffy” so we thought we could have our Easter break now with a lovely forecast. You never know when the last of the nice weather will end before the cold winter months begin. Heading out of the marina we were greeted by flat calm water and (almost) summer temperatures. It was nice not to battle strong winds as we’ve had constant strong winds that have been annoying. We hadn’t gone to Kawau Island since before Freya was born (now aged 7 years), so we thought it was a great weekend to go.

Kawau Island is a lovely island just north of Auckland, and can also be accessed by Passenger Ferry from Sandspit. Every day tourists head over there by ferry to experience the lovely quiet island and to see some of NZ’s history with Mansion House and the old Coppermine just over the hill. (There are plenty more walks over the island, but with little legs, they tend to run out of steam after about an hour or two so we will add them to our ‘to-do’ list.)

We went via Flat Rock (just to the East of Kawau Island which often bigger fish hang around) and didn’t catch the big whoppa I was hoping for, but did catch Kahawhai for dinner, which got smoked with our portable smoker. It’s so lovely to have fresh fish, such a treat!

After spending the night at Mansion House we went walking the next day to the Coppermine, then re-anchored further in Bon Accord Harbour to see friends to whom we spend a lovely sunset with having cocktails! (haven’t done that for a LONG time!) The next day I went fishing in the dinghy (to have a bit of ‘quiet’ time and came back with dinner which was quite exciting as that doesn’t happen very often! It’s not often you are fishing and have a Weka on the foreshore watching me. After a restful day we then headed back, saw dolphins and caught more dinner on the way home – a lovely bonus.


Thumbs up!

Our weather beaten biminy cover.  Might need to replace it within the next 10 years!

Captain Blake heading to the Mansion House

Resident Peacock, Mansion House

I just love the rich colours of the 'eyes' of the peacock tail.

The Mansion House Peacock

Swan Plant Butterflies, Mansion House

Swan Plant Butterflies, Mansion House

Coppermine Walk, Kawau Island

Spotting the Coppermine, Coppermine Walk

Inspecting the caves, Coppermine Walk

Coppermine Ruins, Kawau Island

Cross Section through the Coppermine, note the "Taylor's shaft".

Some remains of the copper still seeping through the land.

Freya spotting the copper rocks below.


Watching the fish below, contemplation

Evidence that we were all here!
 
Sunset in Bon Accord
 
Visiting friends for cocktails at Sunset

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Cupcakes for Nanny's 90th Birthday

Time certainly does fly, and it's wonderful to be able to celebrate my Nanny's 90th Birthday with her.  Both my Grandma and Nanny are still going strong so hopefully those good genes got passed to me too!

The kids helped in making special cupcakes for her special day! Who says you cannot make 90 cupcakes on a boat!....




One of the many special ladies in my life, Nanny

Thursday, May 01, 2014

Miss Fashion Designer's first model shoot, Gulf Harbour Marina

Freya decided that she wanted to do some sewing... and that therefore meant doing a model shoot that evening.  She opted for different garment for her model shoot, and to be honest, we had a great time!  A lot of moves that I had never seen before, and wondered where they might've been seen before, but kids learn and see everything! 

Honestly, looking at these photos now, I cannot believe how fast your kids actually do grow up.  I love seeing their milestones, but at the same time, it's going too fast. Now I know why some older generation that we meet say "enjoy them while you can, as they grow up in a blink of an eye".