30^th December, 2015

We all had a bit of a sleep in. Michael left for Wellington early, so we didn't see him leave. We had a very lazy morning, and then around 1.30pm Graeme took us for a drive up the North Shore to Puhoi Valley Dairy!! YAY

The countryside up here is so beautiful and pretty. Lots of green rolling hills, and the tree ferns have started to appear. Everything is green and lush.

Puhoi township is just gorgeous. I'd share photos of it if I could, but two men who were in the front seat they weren't stopping for anything! But, the town is a destination for motorcycle riders. The two storey pub looks so gorgeous – quite victorian with fretwork on the balcony. The Library is in a tiny little miners stone cottage with pretty flowers around the outside! You can hire kayaks and go paddling up the river. Its got cafe's and little shops. Its very nice.

Puhoi Valley Dairy was going OFF !! We had to park down the road. They have a cafe and a Cheese Cellar and of course Ice-Cream. The queue for everything was long and lengthy, but the wait was definitely worth it!

Graeme and I both had the Salted Caramel & Chai Latte Ice-Cream. Steve had…. Vanilla Bean of course, and Mint Choc Chip! YUMMY – OMG – the Caramel Ice-cream is just like the milk we tried yesterday!! OMG – and do I even dare say it….  but it might even be better ice-cream than the Patagonia! But, of course I'd need to try them together to really compare.

The Cheeses were “sleeping”, so they were behind glass, but we could see them! 

 We did some cheese taste testing – omg – to die for!

We bought some things to bring back home…. More Caramel Milk of course, some Custard – Vanilla Bean & Butterscotch Custard, and some cheeses! OMG – This'll be another 20kgs right here!! ha ha BRING IT ON BABY!

All the different cheeses that were maturing - fascinating to see.....only if the doors weren't locked!!

Graeme took us back home via the coast. We came down a big hill and the views to the ocean was so picturesque. Auckland is a much bigger city than I imagined. The Yacht Club is enormous.

We also stopped off at Aucklands cheapest supermarket for more supplies – Pack & Save. We bought more chocolate milk – this one is apparently supposed to be epic – as it uses Whittaker's Chocolate (I'll be sure to let you know when we finally drink it). We bought some “Krispies” biscuits – these are coconut - yummy with coffee....or without - I've eaten one packed already without coffee, so they are a bit of an allrounder!  lol

So we've come home to relax and unwind and eat! Lol

The day was warm and it is very heavy with cloud – no rain though.  It felt quite humid in Puhoi to down here.   The weather is supposed to get wet over the next day or two and then will fine up and get hotter.   

We'll have another quiet night tonight - we are still very tired!  But tonight we move from the inflatable mattress to Michaels room with a nice QS bed!  I am sure we'll sleep like babies and feel very refreshed in the morning.

I want to  get Steve to go for a walk down the bottom of the street to the harbour to take a few photos at sunset - but he is looking like he is settled into the couch and isn't moving!  Sunset was a fizzer anyway, so good thing we stayed in.

We ate cheeses and olives and then had a fabulous dinner thanks to Geri, and then we had the fabulous Puhoi Valley Butterscotch Custard for desert - OMFG -  it was so thick and creamy you can stand your spoon up in it!

Geri and I both agree that in the past couple of days, I have single handedly propped up the NZ Dairy Industry!!   Anyone who knows me will know I haven't really eaten for the past 6 months and have lost 25kilos......  in the past couple of days I am sure I have put on 10kgs!    I am not sure I'll fit into any of the 6 pairs of bathers I've bought for the Cook Islands!  ha ha ha   Air New Zealand might charge me excess weight charge when I get there on Sunday!  ha ha ha  Worth it though.  At least when I get back to Australia I'll think our food tastes pretty ordinary and I won't eat any of it, so hopefully I'll get to loose it again!