First couple of days....

Hi everyone, Just thought I'd send you some photos to give you and idea of what it's like here.

Jane and John's dog Chach and the wild ducks that live in their yard. Chach is a really OLD dog, so she doesn't chase the ducks.

This is John's Smart Car. Mr. Green went for a ride in it.

Mr. Green on the Smart Car.

John works at a movie studio and this was a prop. Four Sea-Sands Jail. Mr. Green tried it out.

Mr. Green and the Pink Panther.

Giant cabbages at the grocery store!

They don't refrigerate eggs here!

Candy at the grocery store...

Mr. Green tries out the swing in Jane and John's yard.

Look how long the swing's rope is!

John drives a jeep down to the beach.

Our first visit to the beach (Bethells Beach).

Bethells Beach

Chach on the beach

Fabulous patterns on the sand

The huge cave at the south end of Bethells Beach

The cave

The cave

Looking north from in front of the cave. Notice that there's hardly anyone on the beach.

Looking north from INSIDE the cave!

Mr. Green climbing the rocks

Chach and the ducks and the house where we're staying. That big tree in the back is the one with the swing on it.

This stream goes right by our house. The sand at the bottom is really soft and you can walk in the water in bare feet without worrying that you'll step on something sharp.

Here's the stream going out into the ocean. We went for a hike over to the beach just north of Bethells and when we came back it was super high tide and we had to walk out into the ocean to get home. Luckily, the water was pretty shallow.

Bethells Beach

Pohutukawa tree, which has gorgeous red flowers just around Christmas-time

Look at this fabulous island. Someone has a house on it!

Nice tree branches

Mr. Green relaxes at the beach. This is O'Neill's Beach.

Mr. Green on O'Neill's Beach.

Mr. Green sitting alongside the stream.

The stream!

A frog like Mr. Green on the back of what might be a staghorn beetle. This is probably not even in New Zealand and I didn't take the photo, but I thought you might like it!

More photos coming soon. Do send your comments and questions.