MATAKANA ISLAND : Saturday 10 February
Our intrepid band of 17 had a fantastic day, with special detour to Matamata Market's (okay so I admit it was my idea) then across from Omokoroa by ferry, shared with a few locals and a milk tanker (Hey who would have expected that! ... yet they have dairy farms on the island). First stop was the island shop for icecreams ... and a welcome stop it was. Fortunately the locals knew which was the shop as it has no signage at all. In all I think we trekked almost all the sealed roads, and discovered a quaint little church and graveyard that tells the story of the islands population. Plenty of photos taken and a few will eventually make it here. Heading back on the ferry we were treated to a show of thunder as a storm rolled across the Kaimais and down to Tauranga, threatening to engulf us as we crossed the harbour. Then it was off to trek through Omokoroa ... expecting a tramping track yet found ourselves wandering through various spectacularly planted backyards along the coast. A few photos and 'samples' of plants were gathered (and are doing very nicely at home), while Carmen was lost in creating pseudo-natural scenes to photograph, Julia wandered through peoples backyards (all in the cause of photography!), Grant kept us entertained throughout the day, then 'shark'n'taties on the beach, a dip in the local hotpools and we were most satisfied with our 'exploring'. Next trip to Matakana will have to be with mountainbikes to explore further afield ...