Have now washed up back in Auckland after floating in a cycling fashion (yes, it was all a bit wet) through the middle of North Island via Taranaki (New Zealand’s Mount Fuji).

After barely venturing further than north of Reading or south of Romsey, Gary (the builder) has finally taken large leap into the unknown by boarding his first large flying object to land with trusty Roberts touring machine on opposite side of the world into icicle-laden tent.

We’re now on our wintry way heading up to the northernmost tip of North Island where the Tasman Sea meets the mighty Pacific with (on a wild day) a 10 metre high wall of waves.

Humpback Whale

Humpback Whale

HUMPBACK WHALE, BREACHING

The most friendly, playful and perhaps intelligent of the whales, these large mammals are popular attractions in the Southern Oceans. This one is ‘breaching’. That’s when they leap out of the water, as dolphins do. This exposes their huge pectoral fins, which they are famous for. They are group oriented, which pays off when hunting schools of fish, using cordons of bubbles to confuse the fish.