17th Feb sat
The road out of Paihia to the south was still closed so we did the 3 sides of a square detour again. We had to stop in Kawakawa to gawp at the Hundertwasser toilets.
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| Ladies toilets |
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| Passageway |
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| Gents loos |
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| Outside the toilets |
The town has adopted Hundertwasser's unique style and put other art around the town. It makes it very colourful!
Lamp post with handy feet
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| Colourful couch on the main street |
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| Created by primary school children there are loads of short inspirational sayings in the picture |
Our next stop was lunch back at Wangerai. This time after we had eaten we explored the path alongside the marina which has sculptures dotted along and big plaques with information about Maori life and history on one side and the modern developement of the area on the other. It made for a pleasant hour. It looks cloudy in the pictures but this didn't stop the temperature from being in the high 20s.
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| Clock museum, this was our view as we had lunch |
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| Marina walk, plaques on righthand side with info |
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| The waka and the wave sculpture |
We decided to branch off the SH 1 just before the toll road north of Auckland and follow the coast road. The guide book told us this would only take an extra 10 minutes and it would allow us to see more of the coast and save us the vast expense of the $2.30 toll charge. We decided to have a break at Orewa for another driver swap and a leg stretch but were pleasantly surprised when we got there to find out the town was having some sort of festival or family fun day. The main road was closed to traffic, stalls were up,live music was playing at different stages and a mini funfair was operating. We joined the crowd and had a good wander around and an ice-cream before getting back in the car.
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| The icecream was delicious, honest |
Next stop Lyn and Bruce's place in Auckland where we were staying the night. Bruce loves Harley Davidson, Lyn is the older sister of one of Jono's school friends and used to take Jono to rock concerts when he was a teenager. She emigrated about 25 years ago with her trusty land rover which is still going, and her collection of teddy bears which is extensive. They've also been joined by 5 cats and two rabbits. Lyn took me to her church for the vigil mass and then we rejoined Jono and Bruce for pizza and a great talkative evening. Lyn and Bruce made us feel very at home (thankyou!!).
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| Also called Our Lady of Lourdes |
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| 3d stations of the cross |
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| View of Auckland as we crossed the harbour bridge |
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