There was a huge cockroach in the bathroom last night, just as well Alison warned me about them the othere day. I had to spray it as I had no empty jars to catch it. We'll have to get a move on with the marmalade.
The weather is fine and it is a bank holiday!!
After breakfast Jon went out and did a bit of tidying in the garden and found a front door key under a plant pot, who put that there? We had a chat with our neighbour who told us they are going away camping for five days there are eight families going and they all have two or three children each! She is very nice and her little boy, Flynn is a dear little boy and so handsome and he loves Totty.
We went out to the supermarket and while we were there we bought a plug in for the mozzies they are are real pain, my arm is still swollen since Wednesday. I found real Marmite in the supermarket today - it's called Ourmate. They also do a NZ version. I haven't had the need to try them yet. We did a good shop and got the dog a nice big water bowl. We bought some lovely muffins one called lime crunch which we have had for tea and was yummy and the other is loaded with chocolate and we will eat tomorrow. We bought some lovely fruit, grapes, pears and apples all varieties we do not get in UK.
After the supermarket we went looking for the Aussie Butcher and I remembered where it was with no bother. What a lovely shop much better meat than the supermarket. We got a big pack of bacon, two beef Wellington, two sirloin steaks, some lambs liver and two chicken breast rolls with ham and cheese in breadcrumbs that you bake in the oven and look very good all for $35 about £14. They had some lovely looking T bone steaks big enough to use as a Sunday roast! We will certainly be buying all our meat from him. He is open seven days a week and has AC and is incredibly clean. I don't know why but I thought the shops here would be closed on Sundays but there are more open for longer hours than in the UK. The shopping centre where the butcher is also has a baker, a supermarket, a coffee shop and some other little shops so it could become our local on a Saturday morning.
When we came home we made lunch using some lovely bread we had bought and some ham off the bone. The bread had so much flour on the top Jon said he was afraid to have a drink of water in case it turned to paste and stuck his mouth!
We set off to Te Puna Quarry Park after lunch which was a bit silly as it was the hottest part of the day but we are English! It only takes about 15 minutes to get there and it is really pretty. It used to be a quarry but has now been taken over by the council and is looked after by volunteers. It has some very unusual sculptures in it made of wood, stone, sticks, tins and whatever else they have been able to find. The planting is beautiful with some really mature trees and I am told in the spring the orchids are a dream. It was very hot and Totty struggled a bit in the full sun but enjoyed the shady bits. There is a rose garden and a fuchsia garden and they are all dotted with funny little sculptures. We will certainly go back again but not in the middle of the afternoon!
We left there and drove to Otuumoetai (no I don't know how to say it either) which is a pretty suburb of Tauranga and goes down to a beach on the opposite side of Mount Maunganui so we were able to take a picture of the Mount from a different angle. All these areas of sea are so shallow and there are many children playing in the water and can walk a long way out and be only up to their knees. We had an ice cream and a walk along the front before heading off home tired but happy.
We have had a cup of tea and out lime crunch muffin and Totty has finally fallen asleep, it's a long time since she walked so far.
It's beef Wellington for dinner tonight and then I think Jon and I will go to McLaren Falls tomorrow on our own - dogs are not allowed in the reserve because of the wild life so Totty will have her early morning walk and afternoon walk as we do through the week and I am sure she will be fine for a few hours on her own.
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