On the advice of Joe ( our mate from Leeds who lived here in NZ for several years ) during our posh meal out up the Auckland Skytower ( see photo of me and the Dog bravely standing on the glass floor - Athena and Becky were chicken ! ) we decided to stay an extra day in Auckland.
Joe took us for a 1/2 hour drive out of the city centre and showed off some of the surrounding scenery. First stop was the Karekare beach ( photo on the left ) which is where The Piano was filmed. Apparantly....... I'd never heard of the film....
Next up was the stupendous Piha beach. What a spot. Even better than that was just around the corner through a rock ravine called The Gap. We suddenly had our own private beach with personalised wave machine. Nice warm water too. We had a great time throwing the ball around in the waves, until Joe manage to hit the Dog right in the eye after a deflection from yours truly.....
On the way home we took a short hike up to see Kitekite falls. Beautiful scenery all within a short drive of the city centre, and no crowds......Here's a bit of vid of our private beach.
