We arrived back from a lovely, relaxing 10 days in New Zealand late last Sunday night. Ray’s friends, Brian and Carole, made us feel very welcome in their beautiful home at Clarkes Beach, Auckland. We spent a few quiet days at Clarkes Beach so Ray could recuperate from his latest round of chemo treatment (the girls made good use of Carole’s spa each day), then Brian, who has a keen interest in New Zealand history, took us on a 3 day road trip north of Auckland to the Bay of Islands area. On our first day we visited a black sand beach, a gannet colony and then went for a swim at the thermal springs pools at Parakai. On our second day we stopped off to see and use the amazing mosaic toilets at Kawakawa before going to the historic town of Waitangi, where we learnt a lot about the history of NZ at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds museum. Ray was invited to be the visiting ‘chief’ at the Kapah Hakah cultural performance. We then headed off to KeriKeri where we visited the oldest surviving house in NZ and the reconstruction of a neighbouring Maori village. On our last day, we travelled through some (even more) beautiful country, stopping off at Opononi Harbour and then the Waipoua Forest where we saw NZ’s tallest kauri tree, Tane Mahuta, which measured 52 ft in girth and was estimated to be 2,000 years old. Finally we visited the fascinating Kauri museum at Matakohe.
Back at Clarkes Beach, the girls spent more time in Carole’s spa but also went hunting for scallops & kayaking on the tidal estuary (that Brian and Carole’s home backs onto) and snorkeling in the oceanarium at Kelly Tarlton’s. On a quieter, but just as enjoyable and memorable side, Marli, Ray, Brian and I spent some lovely evenings learning and playing new card games together.
We arrived back in Melbourne expecting to be greeted by searing heat, but were surprised to find it was mild – even a bit cool - and better still, that a very good amount of rain had fallen. We not only thank Brian and Carole for their generous hospitality and looking after us so well in NZ, but also our wonderful neighbours and friends who took great care of our garden and animals while we were gone.
Hoping life has been treating you all well. Marg, Ray, Tahnee and Marli.

Last Friday (23rd Oct) Ray had a small operation to have a port-a-cath inserted, just under the skin, in his upper left-hand chest area. This replaces the picc line in his arm, which was used to deliver his chemo drugs. The picc line required a lot more maintenance as it has to be flushed every week to ensure no blood clots form and there is a higher risk of it becoming infected. With the port-a-cath, Ray will be able to do things like swim and it will give him a bit more freedom all round. Ray says it's wonderful not having the picc wires hanging out of his arm - a constant reminder of his treatment.
Starting to get excited about our trip to NZ now that it's only a week and a half away.
Best wishes everyone.
P.S. A big thank you again to the 31 people who turned up at our place last Sunday for a working bee. We are extremely grateful to you all.