Bouldering adventure

We went bouldering at the eastern end of Waiheke. There are a bunch of nice boulders which were marked by the NZ rock climbing association. The sky started to turned grey when we arrived, and we were worried when the rain cloud was approaching us. The wind turned while we were hiding under a huge boulder, and the cloud drifted away as well. So the climbing started!

We turned out to be much more climbing-unfit than we thought. We could only clear some of the easy routes. However, we do managed to take a few nice pics on the boulders we managed to climb. Time to go back for some training, and we will be back here soon. We also went to search for the elusive Hooks Bay (which was rumoured to be very beautiful!) after the climbing, but could not find it.Our body is going to complain tomorrow :P

Lilith got "chop chop"

Lilith got spayed today. We also took the chance and get the vet to remove her back dew-claw.It was a long day for her. She was at the vet at 9am, and we did not get to pick her up until 4pm. She was still a bit tired and disoriented from the surgery and anesthesia when we got her at 4.30pm. Let's hope she will be able to keep herself calm enough for the next few days, and not hurt herself after the surgery.  We can only hope :P...we don't call these dogs "no off switch" for nothing.

Not a happy puppy 

tired too....

Surgery... declawed and spayed

One year anniversary

It's hard to believe Hannah and I have been married for a year! We wanted to celebrate the special day with what we love - adventures! The plan was to explore a new rock climbing site on the southern end of Waiheke, snorkel after that when we are hot and sweaty, and then have a picnic at Man-O-War Bay. However, the weather was not cooperating :(

We ended up just staying at home. Hannah made a great dinner consisting of scotch fillet steak, garlic bread and blueberry salad. We even splurged and buy ourselves some fancy wine - $15 red wine from Marlborough (It was discounted...original was $25). We usually just buy $6.99 wine :P

Using every single drop of my creative juice, I wrote Hannah a poem, mounted it in a photo frame - my first year wedding anniversary for her. Grace also brought us an owl oil lamp when she was in NZ as our anniversary present (Thank you, Grace).

Hannah's present

Grace gave this to us when she was in NZ

Fancy wine

Dinner

Hannah is happy :D

Diving Enclosure Bay

It was a great day today. No wind, and the surf is way down. We decided to go and dive the Enclosure Bay again (our local Waiheke shore dive site). We decided to pay the outside reef a visit this time. We swam to the exit of the bay ans descend down there. I ran a reel to make sure we came back to the exact place, and not get swept away by the current. It was approximately 300m to the shallow end of the outside reef. The two sites were separated by a stretch of sand bed. The moment we tied in, I spotted a nudibranch (I do not know too much about the species of nudibranch), Hannah spotted a seahorse! This is the first seahorse we see in the wild, and we were REALLY excited! The reef was full of life - fishes (snapper, wrasses, triplefins, and others) sea urchins, starfish, nudibranch etc. The deeper end of the reef will probably slope down to about 12m (that's what we heard from the locals). We will try to verify that the next time. Great to have such a wonderful site just minutes away from our place. After the dive, there are still time to be back and enjoy a glass of Gin and Tonic in the sun.

Depth : deepest at 7m
Time : 40 mins
Vis : Approximately 4m

Jet Schutzhund training

After a long break (3 years!) Jet is back in action. We joined the NZ Dog Sports Club for training, and let Jet have his first bite on the hard sleeve. Not bad :)

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 11

Grace is leaving today :( Went to Auckland city, did some last minute shopping and eating. We had Korean Pancakes (Hannah's dad's favorite food!) which Grace really enjoyed. 

Food to introduce to Grace - Korean Pancake ✓

The one, the only, No1 Pancake!!!

Nummy nummy!

We strolled through Albert Park, visited our campus, then headed up Symond street to show Grace the old cemetery  We next walked along K road, stopping in some cool shops before heading down Queen street and going Burger Fuel. Grace thought it was a joke when we told her that she had to finish the burger. It was a HUGE burger! We had meant to let Grace try some duck as well but she was just too stuffed... until next time.

Food to introduce to Grace - Burger Fuel ✓

We then ambled down to the waterfront to see all the big yachts in the Viaduct and new Wynard quarter. As Hannah's parents told Grace she was not under to get any tattoos or piercings while in New Zealand, the girls decided to have a bit of fun and give their parents a fright. We used a Sharpie to draw fake tattoos and took a photo to send to their mom and dad.Then it was time to put Grace onto the airbus and on her way home! There were some tears and promises of a next time. Grace, thank for visiting. We had a great time! There was a lot of sweat, a lot of tears, a lot of Bon Jovi, quite a bit of smelliness, not too much showering and washing, lots of eating.... until next time.

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 10

Back on Waiheke. We went to Oneroa town to have our breakfast. It was disappointing because the cafe we went to used to serve such a huge breakfast, and now with the new management, the breakfast is SO SMALL :(

Well, after breakfast, Grace shopped for some souvenirs and we walked back home, stopped by the tide pools to explore the little critters, dig our toes in the sand, and just enjoyed the view. It was a gorgeous day, and I suggested we go swimming at Enclosure Bay! We reached Enclosure Bay, and found that although the air is warm, the water is extremely cold. Hannah decided we should go back home to put on our wetsuit! People at the beach had a very confused look when we hop into the van after dipping our feet in the sea water. Imagine their face when we were back all dressed in our wetsuit. Back at home, it was quite an event for Hannah and Grace to put on their wetsuits. Since Hannah has been diving drysuit neither wetsuit had been used in years and they were both VERY tight. It was a great snorkeling/ swimming location - we saw mini jellyfish, triplefin fishes, lots of snails and kelps. Grace had a lot of fun seeing what is under the water in the ocean, maybe we will may a scuba diver out of her someday! We returned home and ended the evening with a nice lambchop and kebab BBQ.

Food to introduce to Grace - Lamb ✓

Walking along the esplanade

Her first starfish

Lessons from the marine biologist

She liked the cushion stars best. They are cute!

Time to go swimming!

Editor's note: I thought we were posing like penguins for this photo. However, Grace did not cooperate.

Our grill is the best!

Dining with a sea view and breezes.

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 9

Today is the last day of our road trip. So far we have drove a total of 2100 km (1305 miles). Grace took over the wheel in the morning, driving along the famous route 309 to Coromandel town. Route 309 is a winding, scenic, unpaved road that crosses the Coromandel range from Whitianga to Coromandel town. We stopped by Kauri grove to get close and personal with a couple of huge kauri trees. Also, we did a quick dip in the COLD waters of the Waiau Falls. The water was REALLY COLD! Grace was half deciding whether to jump in or step in when she fell into the pool.... I just slid in and out as quickly as I can... and Hannah bravely volunteered to take photos and not go into the pool at all...

Treehuggers!

She is shrieking here, as the water was VERY cold

The other people at the waterfall though we were nuts.

Hannah and Grace did some shopping in Coromandel town - smoked fish and mussels, souvenirs and then we settled in at Star and Garter pub for a drink. It is a very old bar, and still retains that feeling.

We ended the road trip with a great lunch at Mussel Kitchen. The meal was great!.... Best mussel in NZ! The best way to end the road trip.

They wanted to eat the mussels, not take a photo.

After eating the whole plate of grilled mussels we were much happier to pose with our pots of mussels.

After the great lunch, it was an uneventful drive back to Auckland city to pick up Jet and Lilith...Back to Waiheke...

Poor Grace, every time she comes on trips with us she ends up passed out on the way home.

Grace's "There and Back Again" DAY 8

Hannah read about the tallest waterfall on North Island - Wairere Falls, measuring at 153 meters (502 feet) in the Lonely Plant Guide. It was about 10 mins from where we camped. Thus, we decided to check it our first thing in the morning. It was a long, strenuous hike but the view of the water fall is great. The trail was also interesting, with huge rocks on the path, tons of huge silver and black ferns etc.

Hannah and Grace found many "fairy falls" and may or may not have sprinkled themselves with the waters.

With another 45 mins of hiking, we could have climbed to the top of the falls
but we were still too tired and sore to consider it

On the road again!.... The plan was to drive to the Coromandel Peninsuls, head up the east coast to Coromandel town, camp near there, then spend tomorrow morning enjoying the west coast, and drive back to Auckland in the afternoon. On the way, we stopped by Paeroa, and Hannah insisted that we need to do the cheezy tourist thing of posing in front of the huge L&P bottle and buying L&P drinks. The face of the cashier was priceless when Hannah and Grace was checking out with ONLY the Paeroa drinks (They told me about it...I strategically stationed myself in the van).

The weather was VERY warm, but we really wanted to show Grace Karangahake Gorge and visit the abandoned gold mines. We even snuck inside the pump room using a trick we learned from Hannah's dad when he was there. Spectacular views!

This is what happens when you flash people in the face after being in pitch black.

Stopped at Cathedral Cove as well. Hannah and Grace tried unsuccessfully to run through the arch to reach Narnia.... maybe the magic wasn't there that day. There was just way too many tourists!

After visiting the Cathedral Cove, it was getting late. We started driving towards Coromandel hoping to find a campsite, but it proved to be a difficult task. There were people everywhere. Wind gust also started to pick up, and it got quite difficult to drive along the one-lane road, which is also along the cliff. Along the way, Grace also got freaked out by this "perfect" town - Whitianga, which Hannah commented resembles the town "Celebration" in Florida...  Finally, we were tired and gave in.We camped in an over-priced campervan park in Kuaotunu. We got a crappy spot right in the middle of everyone.... a creepy guy winked at Grace, kids running through the place we parked, young girls screaming in the bathroom... was not a good experience. Luckily, we had beer :)