I took this photo in Mount Maunganui New Zealand, two days before heading home to Southern California.There is a beautiful trail that leads around the mountain. The locals refer to it, as walking the mount. When I visited two years ago, there’d been a land slide, so it wasn’t possible to hike the entire trail, but this year it was open all the way around. As you can see, the scenery is gorgeous. I’m always amazed at how green and rugged it is.
Here is our nine year old grandson, Charlie who is like a little mountain goat and loves to climb.
Here you can see more of the rugged coastline as we continued along the trail. It was a wonderful hike, and it’s fun to look at the photos now that I’m home. They remind me of all the fun things I did during my three weeks in New Zealand.
I’ve been here almost a week and have settled into the routine nicely. I’m in the Mount Maunganui area on the North Island. We are a block from the beach and I feel like I’m in San Clemente, California. The other day we saw two people riding a can-am Spyder like mine. Watching surfers cross the road, surfboards tucked under their arms, makes me feel as if I never left Southern California. I do not drive here, because vehicles and people walk and drive on the opposite side of the road. I am not brave enough to try. This area has few traffic lights, but many round-abouts, and that too is a challenge for me. Thanks to my I-phone I can instantly be in touch with family at home. I do have to remember that we are currently 19 hours ahead of California — but I find it easier to think of it as five hours behind, and one day ahead.