2016 as it happened Part 1

It's been a long time since I've been motivated enough to even attempt writing a blog post. 2016 is almost over. It's been a year of difficulties and huge challenges for me and the girls. At the end of the year my youngest will be leaving home to go and live with her dad in Auckland so she can find better opportunities in the hope of persuing her art and music, We had two more additions in the cat department arrive last May when Amy moved down the line to find new opportunities. Above is Socks he looks almost like Emerald one our cats and more than likely they're related. Then there is Petra who was very nervous when she first arrived and took almost a year to settle in. She's lovely and such a sweet natured cat.They'll be here with us until Amy finds a pet friendly place to live and then we can reunite her with her much beloved kitties.

In February I went up with Lisa to the Far North and we stayed overnight at Kerikeri. We had a fantastic time. I took heaps of photos way too many to post up on here all at once. We visited the Waitangi Treat grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi was signed on 6 February 1840 and our nation as we know it now was born.

We spent a few hours there and also visited the new Waitangi Museum opened earlier this year. It holds different artifacts and stories related to the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the birthing pains of our nation. There is a $20 charge to get into the treaty grounds for New Zealand citizens. Tourists pay double the rate so it can get very expensive. Still it's one of those places that you have to visit at least once.

The grounds at Waitangi are really nice and you get a great view of the Bay of Islands. I loved the entire trip even though poor Lisa had to listen to the grouch writing this post snarl about us being charged to get to see the birthplace of our nation for several hours. I was not happy! That all being said I loved our trip in the Far North. We had such a great time. The photo below is the carved.prow of one of the great waka used at the Waitangi celebrations. I'll write more as I go. This is a start at least on resurrecting my badly neglected blog. Hope everyone is well and happy. Till next time. Liz