Then the Brits arrived!

Sadly, our first guest from the UK wasn't able to visit. Hobbit got delayed at Heathrow due to snow and during the stressful 24hr delay her health suffered and she had to cancel. Hopefully she will be able to travel again soon.

The first to arrive in Tauranga were Jane and Terry who have visited NZ and us before. Their visit was to coincide with Jan and Flo staying with us for 5 days at the beginning of February. Flo had come to NZ via Perth and Sydney before touring the North Island of NZ. They stayed in Pahia and then Cooks Beach in the Coromandel. Jane, Flo and Jan arrived for lunch and the first of many G and T's.

Breakfast at the Mount with The Brits!

Flo and Jan at Dave and Veronica's and then at Whakatane for lunch. 

We had a great week with them and did lots. They walked around the Mount, went to Whakatane and the hot pools before leaving us to go to Rotorua and Taupo. It was good that we had five days to lie down in a darkened room and recover before Marshy and Steve arrived.!

Marshy and Steve had been on a fab trip before even getting to us. Singapore, Sydney and then the Bay of Islands before heading down to Tauranga. We cannot believe it is six years since we were together, but the wait was well worth it. After much hugging we settled into a pattern of activity and rest which suited all.  We did the usual activities like the Mount, hot pools, Ohope lookout to White Island, picnic on the beach and McClaren Falls. This was at the Huka Falls outside Taupo.

 We also booked two days of crazy activities for them in Taupo and Rotorua.  Highlights of that were the Louge and Canopy Tours which they loved!!!!!!!

Oh my. What a blast! They absolutely loved NZ and were not finished after leaving us. They flew to Wellington then did the ferry across to the South Island. Two nights at Furneaux Lodge where we spent Christmas Day 2023. Train from Picton to Kaikoura to do this......

Wowee!!!Then onto Christchurch and the train ride to Greymouth before flying home. We have had a  spectacular time with our mates. Thanks for coming to see us!

No time to rest as Lynn and I flew to Sydney and took Jill away for a week to Wyongah, about 1 1/2 hours up the coast from Sydney. Fab place on a lake with a great deck.

Sadly two days in we caught the tail end of Cyclone Alfred so the view didn't last the week! However, we still got out and about for coffee and lunches so all good.

Jill and Lynn at Shelly Beach Cafe where Janet Chapman played golf. We thought of her and I emailed her the photo and had a lovely response in return.

Stayed at a very nice place in Glebe and would do so again. Small apartment with everything you require for a comfortable stay and a six-minute walk around to Jill's. Did all the usual stuff including a trip to Manly on the ferry. Forgot to mention that when Marshy and Steve did the Manly trip it was the same weekend as Sail GP on Sydney harbour, so the boats were practising and the drones and helicopters were practising too!!! They had an amazing experience. Ours was much more relaxed as seen here.

Jill's grandchildren are all growing up fast. Gemma is at Uni and driving! Olli is in his final year and the others are backing up behind them. Charlie is representing Australia at the world skipping championships in Japan and Lochie has been selected for a representative soccer team.  Nice to catch up with the family again.

The girls out partying again!  We flew home middle of March and are now waiting on Jessica and fiancée Jake to visit us on their way back to the UK after being in Sydney for 18 months. They arrive on the 9th April and leave us ten days later, so we will be gadding about with them too. 

 I should just briefly mention that throughout this time, we have been living vicariously through Karen Richards on her long service leave in South America for twelve weeks. Each week she sent some stunning photos........

She is back home now in Perth with her lovely dog and a massive amount of tales and experiences.

The time difference to the UK will be 11 hours from next weekend so a bit easier for phone calls.  In September we go to Rarotonga for a week's rest and then Christmas we are spending on the south part of the South Island....... so much to get excited about. My knees are still holding up well which means I can get around better. We hope to play nine holes of golf before the weather gets colder.

Recently we met up with Dave Leavy's brother and wife who came over to visit and also Paula and Arthur (plus son Tony) who have not been back since they got stuck here for six months, during the pandemic.

Finally, we had an invite to a neighbours BBQ last Saturday so it was great to catch up with them all and share our stories of travels and guests. Our thanks go to Covid 19 for that as we would not have met any of our neighbours if we hadn't been put in isolation.....sitting across the road from each other, drinking coffee at 11 am each day. We continue to have our six-monthly Covid boosters and have avoided Covid so far. I trust you are all keeping well and looking forward to summer as we slowly slide into Autumn and Winter. Reminder must get our flu jab this week! Hey ho, back to normality!