July 26, 2015

                 

 

Today is our 40th anniversary. Craig tells everyone he promised me on a trip to New Zealand for our 40th and he has delivered! We had a wonderful long weekend 4 hours north on the KariKari Peninsula (sanctioned by the mission president).

I downloaded pictures with some commentary. I spent 3 hours on this blog post and was almost finished, when it crashed and disappeared. I'm so bummed because I had been careful to save it as I wrote. So now you get a short travelog version. We did have a great week with many visits and happy successes. It was not a week of all us and our trip as it may seem from the pictures!

                

Ruakaka Beach is one of our favorites that we will go back to come Spring or Summer. No people, white sand and we found a lot of sand dollars. It's on our way north so we had to stop again.

Whangarei Falls is two hours north. These falls are right outside of Whangarei. Pretty impressive for being next to everyday life.

                 

We arrived at our hotel in time for the sunset. We were the only guests that night so we got an upgrade to one of the Villas. It is a beautiful resort and perfect for our special anniversary. 

This is the view outside our window balcony. On Friday, Craig golfed and I beachcombed.

 I filled my backpack with amazing shells. Another deserted beach and I was in heaven. I walked about  10 miles that day and Craig rode a golf cart. We each did what we wanted and the weather was sunny and perfect. We enjoyed a nice evening walk and the jacuzzi while watching another beautiful sunset.

This is Maitai Bay, about 10 min. from the resort. There were a few campers there. We loved this peninsula because it is untouched by crowds and commercialism. There are no stores anywhere for about 25 miles. It is truly a paradise!

We left the peninsula and drove to the northern-most part of NZ, the tippy top where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea. The views are breath-taking! It is well worth the 1 1/2 hour extra drive. There are a ton of walking trails, but we couldn't take the time. We had a long drive home.

The small light house at the look-out point.

Moari belief is that the Pacific is Male and the Tasman is female and they represent the coming together and the creation of life. 

It's a long way from here to Los Angeles (in nautical miles).

                 

This is part of the 90 mile Beach. The beach is the road and if you are strolling down to the water, you'ld better watch out for cars. We didn't go too far because 4-Wheel drive is recommended and we didn't want to get stuck.  It's not a high traffic day! 

We were happy to make it home safely and be at church today to fulfill our responsibilities. We 

co-teach the Gospel Principles class and Craig is teaching the High Priest's lessons too. Craig also sang in a trio during Sacrament Meeting. We are making our presence known and trying to be helpful. We love our ward and feel great support from the members. The Gospel is wonderful and true.

I only wish my first blog entry hadn't crashed, but maybe it's better I have less written for once! 

Sending our love to you all, especially to our children, my mother and sisters.

Love,

Elder and Sister Martin