Easy riding

How cool is this? Sitting behind Steve with Jo as he took us for a burn along Great Barrier Island's narrow and twisting roads on his trike: a three-wheeler motorbike. It was brilliant! And so great not to have to wear a helmet, which, as Steve says, "takes part of the experience away from you." So we could hear the cicadas in the bush, and each other talking, and the wind whipped through our hair and we waved to absolutely everybody.

What else today? Hot springs in the bush; a quirky little hobby museum (the very best kind); an art gallery where I actually bought something; a swim in the sea which was just the right temperature, if a little boisterous for my taste; and a flight home in a little plane right down low, so we could see the dolphins still hanging out in Okupu Bay where we saw them when we dropped in on the trike. Excellent day (though not for the stingray a fisherman caught just along the beach from us, which escaped at the last second with the hook and trace still attached, poor thing).