We arrived in Wellington in beautiful sunshine on Tuesday and were met by my cousin Michael and his wife Jennifer, their daughter Diana and her son Mark. A quick cup of tea and cakes at Diana's before driving up to Waikanae, about 45 minutes up the West Coast from Wellington. Drinks and supper under the Kiwi friut vine with cicadas singing in the trees. Yesterday we drove up the Otaki gorge and swam in the river just below the rapids - gorgeous! This morning I have been to the dentist to have a filling replaced - it came out in the Rod Laver Arena at the Australian final on Sunday...I was just going for a winner down the line when it happened........! A lovely South African dentist called Celeste - very efficient too! Michael and I are hoping to have a game of bowls later on today and tonight we are dining at a cambodian restaurant (no Pol Pot on the menu!) Tomorrow a barbecue at Diana's when we shall meet her husband Gerry. We set off for a few days looking around North Island with M & J next week. NZ is so different from Australia - hard to believe it was part of the same land mass originally. John
