We have been in Whangerei for a week now and while we are enjoying the ability to easily shop, eat and walk ashore, I think we will have soon had our fill of city life for the moment and want to go off cruising again.

We have purchased lots of bits and pieces needed on the boat and have had some work done. We have also done some initial investigation into getting a hard top and wind/waterproof sides put on the bimini and have had one quote. Tomorrow we are getting some stainless steel work done on the wind generator so that we can fold it down to get at the actual generator. We hope this will also enable us to get the tail fin mended. - All exciting stuff!

Yesterday we got up at six and went to the weekly produce market. There was a great range of beautifully fresh fruit and veg and we bought all we could carry. I also bought a large bunch of sweet peas, which reminded me of home. Afterwards we went for a big breakfast at a cafe near the boat. We met up with Anne and Don for lunch and we went for a long walk with Anne in the afternoon, while Don finalised some work on the boat.

We caught a cab up the Whangerei falls and the driver was about twice the size of Tiny - It was difficult for three of us to squeeze in the cab with him! He was a very jovial taxi driver, laughing and giggling all the time and exhorting us to sing to him - rather boringly we declined. He didn't look at the road much, but we got to the falls without incident.

The walks around the town are very well engineered, signed and maintained. The falls were quite spectacular, and we walked back along the river through forest and meadows into the town. Downhill all the way - an added bonus. We also did a loop around a canopy walk where there were several immense Kauri trees. These trees are a type of pine that now only grows in New Zealand, mainly north of Auckland, although it also used to grow in Australia and southeast Asia. It is one of the largest trees in existence, but unlike Sequoias, it produces beautiful wood - hence its decline. It is now a protected species and individual trees can live up to 2000 years.

In the evening we all went out for a Thai meal in town.