Ghundred's Shaky Isles wanderings

I haven't been past this site for quite some time due to various reasons, for some reason I poked my head in the door, took a bit of a look around, and noticed things have calmed down quite substantially. So thought it worth a try starting a thread or two, sharing a photo or three taken on a couple of my little jaunts.
Anyway, all my photos are taken purely for personal enjoyment, not to document anything in particular, just random things that catch my attention when wandering about the place. The camera just comes along for the ride, it's not the reason for the trip. So here we go.
I have family in NZ, so visiting them is a great excuse to head over the ditch, relax & soak up a bit of the natural goodness. I took my Panny S5 & Lumix S 14-28mm. It's a spectacular lens. Smallish, light, sharp as sharp, not at all expensive. Here's a few things that caught my eye.
Headed up North to the Kerikeri area. My Sister lives there. Not a bad view to wake up to. An exceedingly pleasant 26 or so degrees C. The pool is a heated mineral pool, sitting at about 36-37 degrees. Just perfect.

Rainbow falls

The Stone Store, Kerikeri

He he. Had a brilliant run of weather. 3 weeks and got about 3 days with a couple of showers. No full on rain, just a shower here and there. Northland NZ weather is brilliant. It's a bit humid in Summer, not horrible though. I tell people it's like a warm blanket :) 26-30 degrees C is about the average. Just nice. More Blue :)

Round a bit from Matauri bay.

And who remembers when terrorism came to NZ? With the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, sanctioned by the French Government believe it or not. A shrine to her.

She lies in about the middle of that vee apparently. Now a dive attraction.

Caravan Park & beach there

There's that couple again :)

So we stopped here for a bite to eat. Quite a picturesque little spot if I do say so myself. Nearly everywhere you turn, it's a postcard in the making. I love the place.

That little Lumix S 14-28mm is just an absolute pleasure to shoot with. I can't believe just how sharp & contrast an image it produces, corner to corner, on the S5. Especially for what you pay for one.

On the way over the hill from Te Ngaere bay. Just beautiful.

Russell. New Zealand's first Capital. I adore the place. If I ever came into a bit of money, I'd buy a house there, bring one of my single cylinder KTM Motards with me, buy a little fishing boat/Dingy, & forget that the rest of the world even existed. It just has that effect on me for some reason. I'm 99% sure any photos I post will spectacularly fail to convey this. But I'll pop a couple up anyway
A 10 minute vehicle Ferry ride saves you about 2 1/2 hours of driving. Roughly.

And what better way to finish a day, than a feed of Shark & Taters sitting on the beach. Well, Flounder actually, but that doesn't sound as good does it?

Northland, up the top end of the North Island.300? odd KMs North of Auckland.

Okay. A little bit of a history lesson. Flagstaff hill. As I mentioned earlier, Russell was NZ's first capital. Not for very long though. It got moved a couple of times, which upset the Maori tribes in the area, as they relied a little bit on trade with the British ships, as well as anchoring fees when unloading goods. The flagpole shown here was cut down by a certain Hone Heke on no less than four occasions lol lol. If you look in the photo a little bit closer, you'll see a couple of Maori visitors. I asked them, much to the horror of my Sisters, if they happened to bring an Axe with them. It was met with mirth and a bit of laughter, so all good :) :)

A little bit more architecture

No one particularly interested in seeing a few shots from around the North of NZ?

They set me on a history lesson of Russell.

Turns out the Maoris were quite industrious, trading for weapons, charging mooring fees and also realising sailors who had spent many months at sea might just like some female company...