Water and big trees . . . .

Hello my lovelies! I've been out of phone and internet land for a few days, so I thought I should give you an update.
I met up with Andy, Sarah and Kate at Kai Iwi lakes on Friday night and spent the weekend there with them. The lakes are quite bizarre really. They are natural fresh water lakes only about a kilometer (as the Parrot flies) from the west coast and the Tasman sea. The water is crystal clear and the sand around the lakes is very fine and almost white. Sitting outside the tents at night there was absolutely no background light pollution and looking up past the trees, the stars were brighter than I have ever seen them.
The local beach was gorgeous, a long stretch of wild beach going on and on with hardly a person in sight, just a few fishermen casting into the surf. Andy tried out his new surf casting rod, while Sarah, Kate and I sat back and relaxed in the sunshine or ambled slowly up the beach. All very dreadfull!
On Sunday I headed back up north about 30 Km's to stay at the Waipoua Forest for a couple of nights. For anyone who has ridden a motorbike, I have to say that the road through the forest is the best motorbike road I have ever been on. The road winds through the forest, avoiding the Kauri trees (more on those in a minute), with trees and ferns coming right up to the edge of the road. Even more importantly, you can travel right through the forest, a distance of about 18 Km's, without seeing any other traffic at all.
The forest itself is beautiful. It is one of the few remaining areas of native forest with large Kauri trees still standing. The Kauri is the second largest tree in the world, but since the trunk does not taper at all, they look simply massive. The oldest tree is around 2000 years old and I'll post pictures when I get back to Auckland. Suffice to say, you will have to see them to believe how big they are. Also, the forest is a wildlife reserve, so wandering through this ancient forest, surrounded by huge Kauri trees while watching parrots fly through the canopy is quite some experience . . .
Anyway, back in relative civilisation now and heading slowly southwards again. I will be in Auckland this weekend, but may manage an update before I get there. I hope everyone is well and happy. Take care.