Out and About

We have seen a lot of interesting insects lately. Above is a walking stick. It was about 12 cm long!
Yesterday we saw a baby one. We have also seen a praying mantis and a funny little guy that was walking along with a pup tent on his back. There are also bright green beetles and garden spiders of all sizes.

Today we took a trip to New Plymouth. We stopped at a lunch spot called 'The meeting of Two Waters'.

When we got to New Plymouth we signed up for trip out and about the harbour with Chaddy's Charters.

Chaddy's motto in life is to always be happy. A simple rule to live by but his enthusiasm for happiness was really infectious.


Chaddy

We all piled on the boat while it was in the boat shed. Then the cable was released and we whooshed into the ocean.
 She was built in 1953 on the Isle of Wight, U.K. She was called the Tilly Morrison II.
She served the coast as a lifeboat until 1967. She was then shipped to New Zealand and renamed Rescue III. She was worked as a lifeboat here for twenty years until Chaddy took her over as a tourist attraction.

We toured about the Sugar Loaf Islands outside New Plymouth Harbour.

On Moturoa Island there was a colony of seals. They were lounging about and most of the group had moved onto colder waters. We were in a low lying fog and it was very warm and humid.

Long ago on Motumahanga Island, local tribes lived on the island harvesting seagulls and seafood to survive. There are drawings in the local museum of how the tribes constructed their shelters on the rock.
It is said that the remains of a chief are buried in the cave along with his greenstone and other treasures.

                           lion rock

All in all a good outing and it was great to be out on the ocean. We had our eyes peeled for whales but maybe next time.
Thanks for reading!