We had a wonderful stay with Kay and Richard, but it was time to hit the road again. First stop was the Waipu Golf Club. Kay had told us all about this place, and ther wonderful doughnuts they have – she wasn’t wrong!. It was a very picturesque place for a golf course, and the coffee and doughnuts were fantastic!
Feeling full, we headed onwards back to the waterfront in Whangarei to see the Rolling Ball Clock again. Kay told us we needed to be there at 1pm, when all the balls reset. We had a bit of time to kill before that so enjoyed a stroll and seeing the local birdlife – a Spoonbill was sifting through the mud for food just a few metres away from us.
Just a short distance on from that, a thrush was sitting in her nest, with baby birds, in the middle of a Nikau palm.
We then sat beside the ball clock and waited but it all happened so fast I didn’t manage to get a photo! Next on the agenda was a drive through Ngunguru to check out Dad’s old places. They actually still look much the same.
Ngunguru is the last place for some distance to empty our tanks, so we took advantage of the opportunity, and then headed over the hill to Tutukaka. This township remains much as I remember it – very picturesque, and quite affluent.
We carried on over the hill and found the most beautiful freedom camp for the night – right next to the sea. Bruce and I decided to try a little fishing, and I managed to catch a baby kahawai which became our bait for future expeditions. Unfortunately, I couldn’t convert it to anything larger.
Away From Home NZ 
I remember the one legged bird that used to come to the deck every day for your Dad to feed it bits of toast. Love Tutukaka.
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