Staying at Aunty Elwyns at Mairangi Bay

Lyndon's Aunty Elwyn lives on the other side of the Auckland Harbour Bridge and that's where we headed after Nada's house. We had 4 nights there (1 extra due to our plane to Tonga being cancelled because of Cyclone Wilma) and enjoyed a lovely dinner out on the first and last night of our stay. Elwyn has a beautiful home with views out over the Bay, and it was close to the beach so we went for a nice scenic walk around the cliff tops and the kids played on the beach.

Dinner out on the first night.

The view from my window at Elwyn's.

The bay at low tide.


The view from the cliff top walk.

Elwyn spent alot of time playing tour guide for us, taking us to Snow Planet, shopping at Westfield and over to Devonport for the afternoon. Whilst we were there we walked around North Head, an old military establishment built in and under the hill to shoot at the enemy in war time. We saw the NZ Navy Base and paid a visit to the Devonport Chocolate shop for some handcrafted chocolate yummies. At night time with the kids tucked away in bed, Elwyn and I sat up till midnight watching the Australian Open Tennis, drinking great wine and having a good old chat.

At the top of North Head looking back into the city with Skytower in the distance.

Dylan and Emily playing King and Queen of the castle on the trunk of a huge tree which had been cut down, Rangitoto Is in the background

Dylan and the guns

Emily and Dylan on one of the many huge cannons around the hill.