Here's a Christmas bonus sub-titled "Magical Mystery Tour".
The plot so far is that my fellow explorer, Rowan 'Stanley' Forbes, went visiting friends in the Marlborough Sounds. I took delivery of him, complete with his latest dose of Asian avian influenza, in Picton.
We began the Magical Mystery Tour at Marfells Beach, south east of Blenheim near the saltworks at Lake Grassmere.
Here we harvested the sea and collected the mussels proudly displayed on the table.
The Tour quickly headed north and we jumped aboard the good ship Awatere headed for the capital..
A perfect day for sailing, and Stanley is pictured on the fore-deck absorbing the awesome Wellington vista as another ferry passes to port.
Camp was established on the sheltered shores of the Porirua Harbour at Paremata.
Over the Rimutakas and into the Wairarapa.
A compulsory stop at Mangatainoka at the Tui brewery to check on the girls.
We didn't spy too many beautiful Tui maidens in the brewery so we cunningly camped beside the Mangatainoka River in anticipation of the girls coming down for a frolick.
We are still waiting.
We grabbed a unique opportunity to explore St Leger, a friend's ram stud farm, just out of Gisborne.
The Yamaha Rhino 700cc 4x4 farm buggy was the transport for an exciting trip into the hills.
Stanley and farmer Rick are discussing the price of store lambs.
The 1,000 hectare farm extends to the first significant hill.
The educated amongst you will know, of course, that Young Nick first sighted New Zealand in 1769 and Lieutenant James Cook was the first European to set foot on NZ soil at Gisborne.This statue on Kaiti Hill in Gisborne is a memorial to that event.Much to the delight of photographers and the embarrassment of historians, the statue is NOT of James Cook. The uniform the subject is wearing is not of the British Navy and the facial features bear no resemblance to Jimmy.
Stanley did not stand up well to the rigours of touring the rugged East.This pose signals he is not warm and wanted to get off the historic Tolaga Bay wharf as quickly as possible.Stanley was always accompanied by his angler's hand fishing line, just in case a likely fishing spot presented itself.
We stumbled upon a gem at Tikitiki. This is St Mary's church with its amazing Maori carvings.
The Church was built in 1924 as a memorial to the soldiers of Ngati Porou who lost their lives in World War I.
I couldn't resist the temptation to have a chat from the pulpit.
Te Araroa's pohutukawa - reputed to be the world's largest.
The iconic Raukokore church near Waihau Bay.
Stanley, as is his wont, brought along his comprehensive cabin trunk to accommodate his extensive wardrobe. Each occasion an item needed to be located in the substantial portmanteau the result was a total evacuation of its entire contents!
The east coast experience ended with a beer at Opotiki.
Yet another classic tour of exploration and enlightenment for the natives.
Merry Christmas.
Thanks for watching.
Good luck to all your families.
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