A very early start to visit the market in Mangare on Saturday morning. Such a huge range of fruit, veggies, pots n pans, clothes, craft goods and some fresh food cooking that smelt delicious!

We stop next in Titirangi where Don’s dad used to deliver in-house training to teachers at Lopdell House. It was originally built as a hotel but never quite made it. It became a school for deaf children and then the Department of Education training facility. It’s been really well restored. Titirangi is an arty town with a great library and bizarrely, cockerels just meandering about!!

From here, we drive down an incredibly windy road to Piha with a short stop at Arataki visitors centre

Piha is famous for it’s black sand and surf. It suffered badly in the cyclones of 2023 and is now recovering. We have a beer and dinner in the surf lifeguard station. On the walls are photos taken by a local photographic artist of volunteer emergency responders. Beside each photo is the personal story of each of them during the cyclone. Their selflessness and bravery is humbling.

Helensville is a town, like many in NZ with gorgeous old buildings from the late 1800s. It old post office is being used as a set location for The Brokenwood Mysteries as the police station. I love it! Both the series and the building!

Our camp for the night is on a POP. We are surrounded by at least 20 sheep, some of whom are nibbling the picnic tablenext to the van, the rest of whom are bumping and barging each other and the van!!! Nice sunset though…