What day is it?

I've said that a few times today. I cant keep track of them. So last night we went down to one of the local bars to watch the rugby. I didnt make it past the opening whistle as I was so very tired from the day and the cider put the cap on it really. Faye was the same, neither of us could keep our eyes open. Kiwis stuffed the Kangaroos so all is good and riots were averted.

Today we took a catamaran to one of the islands in the bay called Urupukapuka. On the way we saw Dolphins playing around the boats which is always fun. Not as many as we saw last time we came to NZ but these were bottle nose dolphins not dusky so that could be why. They had a baby with them as well. Cuteness alert!

We landed in Otehei Bay on Urupukapuka, hired some snorkle gear and then (despite my better judgement) decided to walk through some fields, over a LARGE hill to find a place called Cable Bay. We followed another couple over the hill and couldnt find a way down to the beach we all thought we were aiming for,. The other couple disappeared into the trees and havent been seen since (by us) and we walked a little further on and climbed down some very rugged hillside into a holiday brochure photo. You know the ones that are all sand and palm trees and glistening water secluded in some far away place? This was it. Complete with noisy birds and stripy black fish. I broke my snorkle clip for a start but we found a solution to that, And Faye couldnt get her non return valve to stop returning so I agreed to cope with minor drowning and we swapped gear. Eventually we got over the temperature shock and the gear faults and spent about an hour snorkling. Faye found a scholl of black stripy fish who were friendly and chased us around as much as we chased them. We then had half an hour to climb back up the hill back to the boat before we got deserted on the island. We made it with a minute to spare but had to run in sandles. The fields and hillside we ran over were covered in sheep.. lots of sheep. and its annoying getting bits of sheep stuck in your sandal when you are running for a boat. I've showered since. Apparently everyone on the boat saw us running over the hill so we at least provided them with some entertainment.

We got back at lunch time and walked out to the Treaty House and grounds where the British finally signed a Treaty with the Maori to recognise their right to live there and offer them Crown protection. Lots of history and loads of amazing carvings. The staircase we saw yesterday carved out of Kauri trees was nothing to the canoe (Waka) we saw today. Its two meters scross at the centre and approx 20 meters long (without looking at the guide book) Its impressive.

Now we are chilling out as weve both gotten a little cooked in the sun today and could do with a quiet night relaxing.

Tomorrow we sail through a rock and chase more dolphins.

Happy days!

Tui and Kiwi