When we arrived in Orewa (only about an hour drive from Auckland)...
My bed on the far side...After unpacking, Mum's friend Livia who came from Australia (she was staying at the same camp as us, with her friend Gary) met us at our place and then we went to the beach which was right next door to our camp!!!
Livia got me and Linda dresses from Australia!!...
...and 4 kg's of Turkish delight!!! ...also purfume in fancy bottles!!
We stayed at the beach for pretty much the rest of the afternoon as it was very hot! And the water was great! But there wasn't a single wave! I was so used to the waves that we've experienced at the other beaches that a calm sea felt a bit boring at first...
...
the island in the bay.. but not a single wave!
...So we had to find other ways to entertain ourselves... Like get Dad's snorkelling set and explore the sandy floor... Linda was the first...
Later that night we had dinner together with Livia and Gary at our place...
On the second day I woke up really early and went for a walk along the beach... taking random photographs! My favourite is the one at the beginning of this post...
I love this photo also!
...the island...
...rocky shore...
...the tide was down so there were lots of rock pools...
...hermit crabs...
Later that day Livia decided to go to the cheese factory place with Gary and invited us all. Mum and Dad decided to spend the day at the beach but Linda and I were keen to come along...
We got to try different types of cheese (except that Linda doesn't like cheese so she wasn't too pleased) and the ones that we all liked we bought small portions off. My favourite was cheese with wall nuts!! At the end of our testing session Livia ended up getting about 7 different cheese types! Beside the cheese place there was a cafe and a grassy place with a stream, so after getting some drinks we went and set up a picnic on the grass...
...eating our cheeses and drinking ginger beer (me), coke (Linda) juice (Livia) and Gary (beer)
...Linda wasn't very hungry...
I loved the scenery with the stream and fountain and emerald green flora...
We stayed there for a while, until it got way too hot! (it was about 3pm) Then we decided to go swimming at Snells beach... But when we got there, all the water was gone! The tide had started to go down! We waded out to the water but the floor was covered in gooey slimey weed and it felt disgusting!!! So we decided to head back to our camp and go swimming in our bay.
That afternoon after going swimming, when the tide went down completely we went over to the island...
Dad at the island
Everyone wore sandals -the floor was covered in rocks...
...after a rocky walk we finally made it!!
We walked all around the island! At the back of the island there was a rocky shore. Livia and Linda walked almost all the way to the very end where they found- remains of a wrecked ship!! How interesting! We stayed on the island for a little while but then decided to head back- in case the tide decided to come back in and then we'd be stranded! Would have been quite exciting actually! That night before going to bed Linda and I decided to go to the beach and splash around in the tide pools! So much fun! Mum and Dad watched us but weren't too keen to join in... well the water was slightly colder... Very refreshing!! :)
On the third day everyone got up early and went for a walk along the beach... all the way to the bay next to ours!
...but before we knew it the tide was already coming back in so we headed back to our beach...
...Where we went swimming for ages and ages!!
The bay next to our camp...
...where my head just happened to be... (!!) ;)
Linda buried me in the sand!
When we had enough swimming all of us decided to go and play mini golf next door! We play it every year we come to Orewa...
...but first we sat in the cool shade of the cafe for a while...
...before begining our tournament!
Linda!
The golf ball matched my outfit... :)
...and the pretty flowers!
...And he scores...!!
Linda decorated Mum's hat...
Dad won the golf tournament! Linda and I came second equal!! ...getting better every year!
After lunch that day we decided to go to the main Orewa beach. It was quite amuzing how we've been to Orewa almost every year but not once have we ever been to the actual Orewa beach! It turned out that we missed out on a lot! The beach was fantastic!
The waves were great for jumping on and buggy boarding and the water was so warm!!! I could have stayed in the water for days!! We stayed at the beach for about 2 hours!!
That night when we got back Livia made a BBQ and we celebrated Gary's birthday...
Happy Birthday!!!
Cheers! What a great way to conclude our holiday! (conclude? wah wah!!)
The next day it was time to pack our things, say bye to Orewa and head back to Wellington.
I always feel sad when our vacations draw to an end...
When we drove through Auckland we decided to take Linda ice skating once more...
... only for 2 hours this time though. Linda was happy!!!
We watched Linda for a bit ...
...And then went for a walk around Auckland streets...
Entry to a shopping mall in Auckland, sort of like our Queensgate...
After having lunch at a cafe I went into a Whitcoulls store, but before I could find anything interesting it was already time to go and pick Linda up from skating and make our way towards Wellington. The drive was hot and tiring that day and I felt grumpy and bored...thank goodness I had my MP3 player!
We drove as far as Taupo that day with several stops on the way. When we got to Taupo there were only two camps where we could stay. The first one we looked at we didn't like... and the second one we didn't like as well but we were all too tired so we just stayed at the second camp. I can't even remember what it was called and was too grumpy to do anything, even take photos! We just pitched out tent, made dinner, ate, had a shower and went to bed!
The next day we drove back to Lower Hutt...
...bye bye Taupo...
...random photos...
...driving through desert road we could see snowy mountaintops...
...below is Mt Raupehu...
All that snow!!! I want snow!!
...wish we had some snow! It was so hot!
Today the drive seemed surprisingly short and before long we were already near Waikanae...
...oh what water! I want to go swimming!!! I was so used to going swimming every day!! Wish Welington beaches were as warm as the ones in Havelock North, Papamoa, Auckland and Orewa...
On the way home we picked Lola up from Natalija's house...
...she was very happy to see us again!!!
And so we arrived home that day...
It felt so strange to be back! Misty was happy to see us come home! Our vacation this year had been amazing!!! Way better than last year!! I especially liked our stay in Havelock North!!!
...I knew it would take a few days to get used to home life again...
Within the following days I finally filled out my enrollment form for University and sent it in. Whew! Enrolling is so stressful, I don't know why but it is! I was so happy when I sent in that enrllment form :) Whew!
And now for a happy ending ... I still have one month of holiday to go!!! :):):):)
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