Oops! Where have the last two months gone? Things have been a little busy over here in Kiwi-land which has left us a little behind on the blog. Official complaints have been received so in the spirit of keeping our fans (my mum!) happy here's the first of a little spring series - our 30th birthdays!
Mine was back in September followed swiftly by Matt's in early October. We'd decided we would surprise each other with weekends away to celebrate the special occasion, starting with mine on a rather windy and bleak Friday afternoon! Matt whisked me up to one of the North Auckland regional parks (Shakespeare) which it just so happens is very near to the ferry to one of Auckland's extra special attractions - Tiri Tiri Matangi Island - a predator free wildlife reserve teeming with native bird life.
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| Excited to have guessed what is in store for my birthday! |
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Friday night dinner. No one is coming round,
we just had four bowls between the two of us |
Up early on the Saturday and after a rather rocky and wet crossing we landed on the island where we were greeted by a micro climate of sun and blue skies (nothing like the weather on the mainland). Not being bird watching aficionados we didn't really know what to expect but were treated to more birds than you can shake a stick at! And some lovely walking and scenery too.
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| A lovely plump kereru (wood pigeon) |
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| Not a pukeko it turns out, this is a takahe |
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| A different view of the iconic volcano Rangitoto |
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| Walking off the edge |
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| Ferns |
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| Frond unfurling |
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| A pair of beachcombers just chilling |
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| The very noisy tui |
Returning to the campsite and a chance to model my birthday presents, including a lovely new scarf and VERY posh sunglasses from Matt. Bring on the kiwi sunshine!
Just two short weeks later it was my turn to surprise Matt. I had planned a bit of a nostalgia tiki tour, returning to some places we had visited previously and really enjoyed, with an extra special surprise thrown in at the end.
We kicked things off with a visit to the Karangahake Gorge, home to a gold mining complex at the turn of the century and still full of tunnels to explore.
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| More use for our matching head torches! |
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| Darkness and light |
The tunnels are now mainly home to these delightful creepy crawlies - the weta.
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| Educational hand to illustrate the size of these critters! |
Having fully explored the gold mines and fitted in a rather wet hike, we hot footed it to Mount Maunganui where we rewarded ourselves with some lovely craft beers and a meal courtesy of Matt's grandma (birthday treat!). Thanks Grandma Cope, we very much enjoyed!
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| Yum |
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| Carrie at the bottom of the 'Mount' |
The next morning we both headed out for some exercise along the sea front before I navigated us to ... Cambridge of all places. Now this Cambridge isn't exactly like the British version. Let's just say its a small town with... well not much happening. Except the recently built Avanti-dome - a full sized velodrome just waiting for Matt to tear it up!
Matt was super excited, and to add to the surprise of the occasion on arrival in the car park we were greeted by Matt's cycling partner in crime Jody (and Hannah, my spectating partner in crime). Both boys enjoyed an hour's introduction to track cycling including a teensy bit of racing (pretty nerve wracking to watch!)
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| Starting out on the apron |
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| A bit of leaning |
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| Definitely worthy of a montage! |
Back to the campsite and it was time to crack open some drinks and head out for a party night.
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The only photo of the night,
I will leave the rest to your imaginations! |
Before long it was time for the weekend to end, and a final goodbye to our twenties. Thanks for rounding it off with us Hannah and Jody and to everyone for their lovely messages. What a decade it has been!
