ANZAC DAY - Thursday 25TH. April

An early start to this day for everyone in the household. There was two extra for sleepover last night. Sue's grandson, Tane & his cousin Tate were with us. They were wanting to attend the Dawn Service of Remembrance at the war memorial in Maunganui which commenced at 6 o'clock. Tane was going to be wearing his great grandfather's war medals. Freddie died last year & he always made the parade. It was pitch black as we left the house for the 10 minute (usually) drive to Maunganui. The roads were gridlocked for the direct route so we went the long way round & eventually found somewhere to park up. It was amazing to witness the volume of people ( of all ages) heading to the service in the dark and  the rain. The local paper reported there being over 2000 in attendance. I think it was a lot more than that Another interesting point to note is that no shops can trade on this day before 1.00 pm. It was still dark when I took the photograph of the crowd at the service.

We had a buffet lunch back at Michael and Sue's, with lots of family members there, some we met for the first time.  Sue brought her mother, Ruth from the home she lives in. She was beaming from ear to ear every time family members arrived, grand children and great grand children.

Later in the afternoon we went to the cemetery to place our poppies on Ruth's late husband Freddies memorial stone. Freddie was Anne's Dad's cousin, who served out here in World War 2 and ended up staying here.

One person who missed the photo shoot at home was great grand daughter Nina,she was taking a power nap, but was good for a picture at the cemetery with mum (Sarah) who is Ruth's grand daughter.

The following day (Friday 26th) everyone was back at work after the public holiday, which meant that Anne & I took ourselves off in the car for the day. We headed across country & Southwards to explore the caves at Waitomo. Unfortunately, photography was banned in the caves so just a couple of pics. on our way out. The weather on the drive down was horrendous, with a very low mist & torrential rain. Luckily it had cleared up by the time we reached our destination.

After the tour of the caves we descended some steps (still in the caves) & boarded a boat in complete darkness, to exit the cave on the river and observe the thousands of glow worms that had made their home there.
On our way back home we called off in the town of Cambridge for a coffee and a good look around. Cambridge is famous for breeding horses for racing and trotting. Mosaics of some famous ones are immortalised on the pavements in the main street.

When we arrived back home, Sue had just come off the phone with news that her mum had been taken into hospital. Later that night we were joined for the weekend by Steven, who had travelled up from Wellington to see his mum & dad before they left New Zealand.
Turning the clock back two days (I forgot to write up about Wed 24th)
Sue took Anne & I for a drive to some places not too far from home. We called at the beach's in Anzac Bay & Bowentown , calling off at Katikati (famous for its murals) on the way home.

 Saturday was a chill out day for everyone. After lunch Michael, Steven & myself went to the rugby to watch the top of the table clash between Tauranga and Te Puke. Our team Tauranga won quite easily, to extend their lead at the top of the table. We were all invited round to Sues eldest daughter's house. Mandy, Tony & their children  hosted us for a meal when we last visited NZ seven years ago. For some reason there was no camera present.
Sunday was our last day with family in the Bay of Plenty before leaving and heading up to Auckland. After Mass the boys (son in law John, 3 grand sons, Steven & myself) went fishing on Michael's boat, Willie O. We sailed out of the marina into the Pacific  waters & dropped anchor in the bay, with Mount Maunganui in the distance. This was only the second time that I have been fishing. The last time was in 1992 when on holiday in Alderney. I only caught one snapper, but had to return it to its home as it was undersize. Some nice size fish were caught by the professionals though.

Steven waiting for the fish to bite. He caught two,but both were undersize.

Re-take of a scene from the film Titanic???

Steven at the helm on our way back to port.

Michael & John preparing the fish for cooking

Not one to argue with!  Giving way to one of the big ships leaving the port of Tauranga.

Safely tied up at the Marina. The boys & Johntook the fish home to smoke it ready for tea............

while Michael, Steven & myself stayed onboard to clean  the rods & decks down with fresh water.

By the time we arrived home & showered up tea was ready, Freshly caught fish & various salads. Yummy