Russell awaited

Another day of less useless facts but great information gained from the Pompallier House tour. A very entertaining guide who kept us entertained for nearly an hour with her descriptions of the printing, tanning and book making processes that went on in the 1840's. most exciting life and some of the saying we can attribute to the printing process are; upper and lower case as this is where the letter sat for the typesetter, mind your p's and q's (person who returned the type to the right box) and first impressions - the first print taken after the page is finished typesetting. During the tannery and leather making section we all learnt about skiving off which is not avoiding the dishes but actually trimming the leather to make it thinner and finer.
Lunch was had at the Duke of Wellington Hotel and it was delicious. I had the calamari on David's recommendation. Thanks Kim. A walk around to the church and a look in various shops then an afternoon tea snack and catch the ferry back to Paihia. A walk around the town around so we could visit all the gift and souvenir shops. A further drive the street found us at the Stone Church which was another tourist spot. We explored the grounds and Maree declared that she had fallen in love with graveyards again.

Wednesday 9th January.
Today we departed from the north and our lovely country cottage. We were packed and ready early - must be something in the water, so departed and onto the west coast. A detour to Te Waimate Mission House, plenty photos, chat with gardener and another tourist spot crossed off the list. On the road we then turned off to Rawene (setting sun in Maori) for morning tea at the boats shed cafe. Tea, coffee and hummingbird cake with a paddle in the Hokianga Harbour we were on the road again. Next stop was Opononi to check out the dolphin statue which has been gone for a while to be repaired and is hoping to be replaced by a bronze one. Another paddle and then onto the forest to see Tane Mahuta (giant kauri tree). 70 kms later we stopped for lunch at Dargaville and a search for a magnet for Stephanie with no joy.
Last section of driving without a stop at the kauri museum but a stop at puhoi for cheese saw us nearly get to the Auckland bridge before the rush hour traffic slowed our return to Stephanie's. unpacking of the car was completed quickly and we all relaxed with a pizza night and tv.
A wonderful break away with lots of knitting done.