Hi all!

Today we mostly visited the Pensinsula of the Franklin District.

This was taken at Karioitahi Beach (a surf beach that you can also drive on).  As you can see the Navman is showing that we are driving in the sea (doesn't take account of tides!).  We turned her voice off so she coudn't tell us off.  It was sooooo cooooool!

Here be me posing.

Helloooo!
Where am I?  Asks the bewildered looking gent.
This is Hamilton Gap - what a stunningly wild place to be!  It was amazing and our mouths just fell open upon stepping onto it - crazy waves crashing on the shore and a howling wind.  Our sense were assaulted well and truly.

You can see our car in the distance if you look carefully!  We collected LOADS of firewood from this beach which is now residing on our balcony, getting dry for our log burner.

Kev looking out to sea - we were just mesmerised......  I feel a poem coming on.... Wait a minute..... nearly there - "What is this life if full of care, there is no time to stand and stare".  And that's just what we did... Wow!

There were lots of these little blue creatures dotted around (bottom left, just above the rock) - they had jelly like sails sticking up from a flat blue-green base - not sure what they were?  Didn't poke them with our fingers in case they stung us or something!

The little bay that I climbed over rocks to look out from - it's sand was jet black - I almost thought I'd sink into it when I jumped from the rocks - luckily I didn't - very luckily actually cos I had that thought mid jump.  That's the Tasman Sea in front of me - Oz is a long way away across there.





I am very proud of this photo!  Took it of a flower (obviously) somewhere on our escapades that day!
Here's the lighthouse at Manukau Heads!  We climbed up and were blown away - by both the wind and the view!

Remember last week, when we went to Whatipu?  Well, this weekend we ventured on to the red cliffs you could see in the distance from farty poo - aka Manukau Heads.  

Above is farty poo (Whatipu) in the distance - the little rock poking out of the sea on the left is the one that has the solar light house on top - higher tide at the time of this photo - we walked to the rock last time.

It was a wild, windy and dramatic day.....

This is the radio station just below the lighthouse - used to keep in touch with all the ships etc going in and out to Onehunga Port - there is a dangerous sand bar (you can see the waves breaking over it just above the building).

The valleys were just awesome!  Reminded me of Scotland or Wales or the Lake District.

Ah well, another fabbie day in paradise!

Hope someone is reading this - helllooooo anyone there?

x Sue