I took the dog out early as we wanted to get off to the falls and dogs are not allowed in the park.
As it was so hot yesterday in Quarry Park we thought we ought to buy some hats and so went over to Bay Fair shopping centre. I bought a baseball hat and Jon got a flowerpot man hat. You will have to see the Facebook photos to see what I mean. We also bought some spray to repel the mozzies and some gel to put on the bites we already have - lots of them!
The trip to the falls only took about 15 minutes and in that time we were up in the hills to the south of Tauranga. The entrance to the park is across an iron road bridge and over the falls. You then drive up into the car park and then have to walk back down to see the falls. They are really lovely and the sound of the water rushing down is amazing. Back down on the bridge we could see all the rock pools with people swimming in them to the right of the falls. On the bridge there were young boys jumping into the water down below and I couldn't look as it looked so dangerous with big rock and boulders down below.
We walked back up to the car park and then drove into the park. The roads are very narrow and there are no directions so it looked like we could really get ourselves lost but it was so beautiful. We followed the road round and came to dirt tracks so turned back and came across a big parking area with a few cars in and some picnic tables right down by the river. People were camping there and it was all so peacful. We had our picnic and then took a walk along the river. It was really pretty with lots of ducks and swans swimming around and the water was so shallow and clear.
After our walk we got back to the car to see if we could find our way out! It was much easier to find our way back down than we had imagined and we were soon at the animal park. We went inside and had a look at the animals having paid $11, quite a lot of money for what it was, it was by this time very hot. The park completed we sat in the shade and had an ice cream.
By this time we had had enough and made our way home getting back in time to give Totty her dinner. The house was 29.5 degrees when we got home but Totty had been asleep in our bedroom at the back of the house where it is much cooler.
We took Totty out for a walk about 6.00 and Bronwyn Anne saw us leaving and came over with her husband, Peter, to introduce herself to Jon. They asked us to pop in, with Totty, on our way back for a drink. As we were setting off a young woman called Susanna called me and asked if she could stroke Totty. She has learning difficulties and lives with her carer, Mary, a few doors down. We had a little chat and I told her we had just moved here from UK and she asked me to pop in for a cuppa when I wanted, she was really sweet.
We had our walk around the park and then went over to see BA and P. They have a cat whose face was a picture when Totty came in but she didn't move from her chair and when Totty eventually settled on my knee we all had a lovely chat. Peter made us a gin and tonic and it nearly blew my head off. They are a very easy couple to talk to and we passed a good hour or so with them. She is going to invite us to a BBQ next Saturday with some of the other neighbours.
It was too late to cook the chicken when we got home so we just cooked some steak I had bought at the Aussie Butcher and had some salad and French bread and that was lovely.
After such a busy day I was asleep pretty soon after my head touched the pillow.
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