Around the island

On our last day, we took a tour of the island of Efate - one of just 82 islands in the archipelago. The trip in a long wheel-based Hi-Ace minibus took us along 140km of new sealed roads, built by Kiwis, funded by Americans.

We passed numerous villages with brightly painted schools and clinics, overgrown WWII air bases and miles and miles of beautiful beaches. We swam in blue lagoons and sheltered coves then stopped off for a lunch of local produce.

If you want to get a taste of island life, click here to see our holiday photos...

Floral Tribute

Vanuatu was covered in tropical flowers - from frangipani flowers in the gardens by the government buildings in Port Vila to the hibiscus blooms on nearly every plate. The children in the villages gave flowers to visitors and every home had a colourful display on the bushes outside.

Click on the picture for a closer look...

Coral Close-Up

The coral reefs in Vanuatu are hanging-on, despite being threatened by global warming. We saw some amazing varieties of coral during our dives but there was plenty on the beach to admire as well.

Click on the picture for a close-up...

Ni-Vanuatu Wildlife

As in New Zealand, there are no native land-based mammals in Vanuatu. There was still plenty to look at though - a St Andrew's Cross spider, blue starfish, lizards hiding in the picnic tables, a butterfly in the undergrowth, sea urchins and dozens of hermit crabs scuttling across the beach.

Click on the picture for a closer look...

Pacific People

We visited a couple of customary (traditional) villages on our travels and were treated to some traditional dancing at one.


With the brandishing of sticks and the shells/bells on the dancers' ankles, we were reminded of morris dancing!

Postcards from Vanuatu

At the start of this month, we jetted off to Vanuatu in Melanesia, the happiest nation on earth, where we spent a very happy week on Hideaway Island.



Apart from the tropical weather, the marine sanctuary and the delightful staff, one of the best features of the island is the bar on the beach.



Every night at happy hour, we settled in with cocktails to watch the wind turbines on the peninsula opposite - and the sunset.

Mudlarks

After all the kauri were chopped down and the rest of the coastal bush cleared, the inlets around Auckland's harbours began to silt up. The mangroves took root and clogged the creeks up even more.



In Waiuku, at the base Awhitu Peninsula and the southern end of the Manukau harbour, locals are pulling out the mangroves to encourage the native bush to re-generate and improve the conditions in the river estuary.

Awhitu Peninsula

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to the Awhitu Peninsula to see the Manukau Heads Lighthouse.



The lighthouse was built in the second half of the 19th century after the tragic loss of HMS Orpheus on the Manukau Bar. It was re-built and re-opened in 2006 but the light no longer shines. Instead, there is a signal station below the lighthouse complete with radar and radio.



The whole peninsula is one huge ancient sand dune. There are patches of sand in the paddock and towering sand cliffs on the beaches.



You can see lots more shots from our day trip here.

Crossing the bridge

Tikis

These are some of the most terrifying tikis from Auckland Museum.

Traditionally the Tiki represented the first man and guarded the wharenui and other communal buildings.

Traditional Textures

Here are some of the textures and designs from the wharenui and the Maori collection at Auckland museum.

Marae at the Museum

Auckland Museum has a life-size Maori meeting-house (wharenui - only the enclosed area outside is known as the marae).

This is the view into the wharenui from the marae.



The walls of the wharenui are covered in woven mats and a large number of carved tiki - each one with a different design.



And there are three even more impressive tiki looking out onto the marae.

Parnell IV

Parnell III

Parnell II

Auckland Public Library, Parnell Branch at sunset.

Parnell I

Parnell is Auckland's Hampstead with a mini-V&A museum, French market and botanical gardens thrown in for good measure. A month or so ago, we had a weekend away there and I enjoyed a wander around the Domain and the War Memorial Museum.

White Rabbits!