(very big version of the stitched picture above here)
bit of a lazy start for me, but jane was up early to go running with her friend (then again on her own) and the girls did some skyping. by the time we all were back in the same place (and i was out of bed) it was plenty warm enough to have breakfast outside. so we did.
and then, the box people arrived to take away our empty packing boxes. there then followed a day of box lugging / rearranging to create a ‘wall’ of stuff, and me trying to mend jane’s computer which is still suffering the side effects of a fatal virus which meant a full rebuild before we left the UK. jane’s now got a fantastic wall of boxes, but her computer is as sad as it was when we left 🙁
after our afternoon of tedious doings, we headed out for an early evening picnic at Shakespear Park, about 30 mins drive away with our friends the Dunnings.
it’s a fantastic location as it’s on a peninsula and the beach looks back towards Auckland. so you effectively get to see the back side (ooer) of Rangitoto volcano (see earlier post) and the harbour side of Auckland.
and the beach itself is lovely with a great grassy area to sit between the car parking area and the beach itself. i really like that layout as you don’t have to get involved with all that sand stuff unless you want to. but you can still keep an eye on the kids.
esther and kezia had much fun with Maisie and Robyn in the sea (that’s not them in the picture below, but it is the Sky Tower on the horizon).
then we all went and played cricket. i surprised myself and the rest of my family by actually not being totally rubbish. 
it’s funny how nz has made me a bit more joiner-inery. and it was funny how wendy (buzz’s wife) threw the ball at her husband’s head rather than the stumps when she was bowling !
i was convinced it was going to rain and ruin our picnic, but it turned out great. in fact there was quite a dramatic sky as the night drew in. i think we were there until about 8.30pm
tomorrow is church in the morning and we’ve got some friends coming round in the evening. the afternoon was to be a bbq for people interested in starting an Albany church homegroup, but it turns out most people are still on hols so that’s been deferred. so who knows what we’ll get up to.
here’s an octopus we found on the street (held by hand-model buzz)