Today Gwyneth continued to be my most excellent tour guide. We headed south from Whitianga and hit 5 beaches, a scenic outlook and had lunch on the banks of the Purangi River.

Shakespeare lookout was where Capt Cook observed the transit of Mercury across the sun in 1769 (that is the view from that to your right), then we hit front beach, cooks beach, hot sands beach, Haiwi Beach, and probably a few others.

Yes it rained..

Pictured to your right: clockwise:

• view from Shakespeare point over Flaxmill Beach and Cooks Beach
• me swimming off Front Beach
• my feet - I'm experimenting with my zoom
• this is the Oyster Catvcher. an endangered species. There were three of them on the banks of the Purangi River being harassed by seagulls and me. He was running away but i had mastered my zoom by now.