Yankee Thanky

So Ben, Pat, Joe, Gilbert and I crammed back into their Subaru and headed to the east coast of Northland.

The weather was stormy and it rained most of the day, but as we drove from the Kauri forest back to Orewa we were able to stop at quite a few beaches and enjoy the scenery.

Goat rock reserve

It was a fun day. I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to see old friends!
Once we were back at Orewa Pat and Ben took kayaks out on the ocean while I read on the beach and tried to steal a few rays from the intermittent sunshine.

Kayak haka

The next day we went to the island of Waiheke. It's a 35 minute ferry ride from Auckland but it feels like a completely different country. I'd visited the island very briefly when I first arrived in NZ.
We stayed at this very cool vacation house, complete with kitchen.
Kitchen! Holy moly do I miss having a kitchen!
Since it was my last night hanging with the guys and it was turkey day, I cooked us a NZ thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, we couldn't get our hands on a defrosted turkey, but we made do with 2 big chickens.

Yankee Thanky

I was stuffed!

It was yummy and I had so much fun cooking! Even though I sacrificed a few fingers on the oven rack in the process. Im such a klutz!

Joe's friend John, and his wife Galena joined us and I had a great time.

John and Galena were awesome

The next morning Joe drove us over to Palm Beach where we spent the day swimming, and drinking beer. The water was amazing, crystal blue and warm!

Palm Beach

It seemed too soon when it was time for me to leave and catch the ferry back to Devonport.
I had such a fun time with the guys and it was so nice to have a little bit of home here in New Zealand.