Holiday Time - Part One Auckland

Last Sunday we headed north to Auckland, to spend a few days sight seeing and catching up with Glenn's relatives from his Dad's side, and also a couple of days in Taupo on the way back home.

Ready to go now - hurry up Dad and get the suitcases packed.

Auckland is quite a long drive away for us but we had plenty of coffee and food stops, and of course, lots of park stops, so it didn't seem to take too long. Hannah was so excited to be going on holiday, and had a fantastic time, and now she's older we can do so much more and be out and about longer, without having to worry about nap times, etc.

On our second day we took the train from where we were staying right into Auckland, to the Britomart Station, and it was off to see the Sky Tower and the marvelous views around Auckland city and further.

The weather co operated and we could see many landmarks around Auckland, including the Auckland Harbour bridge.

We then took a ferry from downtown Auckland to Devenport. It was a quick ten minute ferry ride.

It had started raining by then so we didn't stay too long in Devenport, a quick bite to eat at one of the many lovely cafes and then a walk up and down the main street.

I did find a quilt and sewing shop, Cushla's Village Fabrics, so I had a browse through all the lovely fabrics, picking up a small Christmas pattern.

Day Three we were up early to go to the Auckland Zoo, somewhere I haven't been since I was a little girl. Hannah was just buzzing with anticipation!

We spent three or four hours here, lots to see and do, and although it was a busy day, being school holidays, it didn't really seem like there were crowds of people around.

My favourite, the giraffes.

The rest of the day was spent at Maraetai Beach, where Glenn's Grandma has a holiday bach. Glenn thought it was nearly 30 years since his last visit, he used to holiday there with his family as a child. What an absolute gorgeous beach, and so peaceful, and the sea was so calm.

We could have stayed here forever, hopefully it won't be long before we return there again.

The rest of our time in Auckland was spent with Glenn's relatives from his Dad's side of the family. It had been nearly five years since our last catch up so it was wonderful for Hannah to meet everyone and play with some of her cousins.  Glenn's Dad lived on the family farm at Buckland until he left home to train in his trade as a carpenter, the family farm being established in the early 1900's. There are no Jamiesons living along Jamieson Rd now as Glenn's aunty and uncle have recently moved into town.

The highlight of our week was spending several hours with Glenn's Grandma Betty, who is nearly 93 years old and is an absolute treasure. She was so thrilled we had traveled all the way to visit her and so she could see Hannah, whom asides from photos, she'd last seen as a 5 month old baby.

Soon it was time to hit the road again and travel a few hours south to Taupo. Whenever we are in the area we stop at Mercer for a meal at Pokeno Bacon, delicious. Hannah found this carousel in the food centre.

Part 2 of our trip to follow soon!