As 2015 slips into the past and becomes a memory

Well, Christmas and New Year have been and gone and I've been very remiss here. 

So just to get back on track, here are some pictorial updates of stuff that has been happening, and places we've been since the last time I was here.

Christmas Morning

The Mount (Maunganui)

Waihi

Port Albert (The Davys' emigrated on this scheme in 1862 but didn't end up settling here)

Raglan

Coromandel Peninsula

Pakiri & Hibiscus Coast

Sandcastles

When I was a kid we went to the beach and built sandcastles with our buckets and spades. The normal type you see at beaches everywhere, with a moat, shell decorations and maybe a flag fashioned from something you found. Then you waited until the sea reclaimed it all.

Sandcastle building for adults is a while different thing. 

The 4th New Zealand sandcastle competition was held at New Brighton yesterday, so we went for a drive to see.

Pretty clever - taking a load of this and turning it into something so amazing

 kinda puts my sandcastle building to shame.