Tauranga

Up nice and early. Today we needed to do a little shopping for some supplies to see us through our time at the beach house in Leigh.
We had a quick sojourn into Pukey upy (Its actually called Pukehoe but I think pukey upy sounds better.) to purchase said supplies. Its quite a rural location and the little town feels very quaint and friendly. We are only forty minutes from the city but it feels quiet and calm. Most of the area is farmland but the town has everything you could need.
We got our supplies, including the obligatory alcohol, and headed back to Lynns.
Anna and Locwood, the happy couple, called round to see us which was lovely and a very pleasent surprise as we knew that they are really busy preparing for the wedding.
We had not expected to see them till we got to the beach. They had very kindly brought us presents of Tauranga. Special green stone pendants that had been made, blessed and named for us. Its a rare honour and we feel very privelidged and humbled.  These are not the regular tourist tokens but true treasures that are not given lightly. We love them and will treasure them always.
Mine is called whaikaha which means strentgh and determination. Crispy, s is caled manaarki which means caring for others. Perfect...

The rest of the day was spent relaxing and meeting Lynns neighbours. A small amount of beer was involved and tomorrow we set off to the beach house to meet up with the rest of the family in Leigh. We have been to Leigh on a previous visit to swim in a protected marine zone and it is stunning so we are really looking forward to it. We have packed the snorkels and flippers. I must remind Crispy about the sharks as I dont want her damaging the finely balanced eco system by getting eaten.

Bare and Crispy, signing off, Pukey upy , New Zealand