2 weeks with Paul!

Paul came to stay with us for a couple of weeks and we had a really fantastic time catching up. To help Paul recover from his long flight, we took him to the west coast beach of Piha for some body boarding on his first day. Gareth also had his first surf lesson in the big waves!

To celebrate the Chinese New Year, Auckland hosts a lantern festival in one of the city's park, and we paid another visit. The street food was amazing and we all enjoyed the various scenes created by lanterns.

Even sheep to make us feel like we were back in Cumbria!

Gareth managed to take some leave for Paul's first week here, so they booked a bach down near Lake Tarawera and enjoyed the great weather. The week consisted of lots of BBQs, beer, Sensible Soccer and extreme outdoor activies!

The bach

Jet boating at the Huka Falls

Dam gates about to open

Craters of the Moon

White water rafting (Garet and Paul are at the back)

And moved to the front for a photo!

On Friday evening, Hannah drove down from Auckland and met the boys in Turangi. The idea was to do the Tongoriro Crossing (the best 1-day walk in NZ) on Saturday; however, the weather was against us and the forecast was for the storm to arrive late morning. Taking the advice from locals, we decided to head up Mt Ruapehu on the chair lifts, which are used for sightseeing in the summer. When we reached the top, we did a ridge walk just before the weather changed...

Mt Ngauruhoe

Coffee while waiting for the lists to open

Now we can see why the ski field is call the 'rock garden'!

The weather closing in...

Made it down just before the lifts closed

Paul spent his second week in and around Auckland and visited us for lunch at work. He also managed to see the Black Caps play England in the test match. On his last evening, Paul took us out to a fantastic seafood restaurant - Hammerheads.

Just before Paul had to leave for the airport, we enjoyed breakfast on the BBQ.

Nice to see you matey!