ANZAC Weekend

ANZAC Day

 ANZAC day, April 25, is to commemorate the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps. This year it just so happened to fall on a Friday, giving us a long weekend to celebrate.

We kicked off the weekend by going to the Auckland War Memorial Museum on Thursday night to see it lit up with newly discovered footage from the war.

Friday morning we watched the dawn memorial services from the comfort of the couch- it's amazing how many people turn out for the service!

Whatipu views

Crawling through caves at Whatipu

After a hearty breakfast, we decided to go for a hike out west to Whatipu. It was about an hour drive and a short 20 minute hike to some spectacular views! Definitely worth the slightly challenging steep climb down. And if that wasn't enough, just a 10 minute walk away were some pretty cool caves. One of them was huge and apparently has a dance floor buried 5m beneath the sand. I started dreaming up ways to revive the place and throw a big party.

However, the current day party was held in the cave next door, where I found a tunnel to snake my way through. On the other side it opened up into a big cavern the size of two of my kitchens placed end to end. I had a private dance party as no one else could fit through, and then snaked my way back to the main cavern. All without getting too dirty as it was a beautiful sand bottom.

MT Eden

Saturday we spent the day with friends who were visiting from Australia. We had a delicious dim sum lunch and then explored a few of the volcanic peaks of Auckland.

Scary floaty things

Sunday, the weather and visibility report for Goat Island, a marine reserve just under two hours drive from the house, looked promising. We decided it might be the last chance for the season to go snorkeling without a wet suit (winter is fast approaching). I was the only one to brave the refreshing water temperatures, but got a little bit wigged out by the things floating in it. I just wasn't sure if they would bite or not! Once I got away from shore and closer to the island, they disappeared and it was much more enjoyable, though a bit cooler.

Cool 'tailless' fish

The camera doesn't do it justice, but the fish were much more plentiful and varied than the first time we visited Goat Island. It pays to wait for a good visibility day. I'd love to see it on an 'excellent' day. Perhaps next season.