Gillian and Steve made us feel very welcome, including providing some essentials to make dinner on a rainy evening. The place is gorgeous and we were very happy in their beautiful place with the rain falling outside.

The photos and description lured us over to the west coast en route to the very north of NZ. Our original plan was the east coast and we are very glad that we changed this to include Gillian and Steve's place and the area they live in.

Steve made extra effort to help us know which local businesses were open during the holiday period which was great, allowing us to provision for our road trip.

Even though the sun wasn't shining when we pushed off the next morning we trusted Gillian's promise that gannets are great in any weather. All true! Fantastic funny birds with heaps of chicks. Two metre wing span and constant motion as they head out and back in for feeding.

It was also a great location for us to head up the west coast and see the beautiful giant Kauri trees including Tāne Mahuta.