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Tairua and the Coromandel

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What a lovely start to the day! Sunrise over Tairua .  Although the journey through to Coromandel was not too many kilometres, the extremely winding roads and passes made it a long, though magnificent journey. The forested mountains here are just marvelous and everything seemed so lush. Our first stop was in Coromandel at the Driving Creek Railway, set up originally by a potter wishing to transport his clay to his pottery. As he needed to pay his debts and people became interested in his tiny little railway, he opened it to the public, and it is certainly worth a visit. Not only is it a feat of engineering and construction, but the views and the forest are sensational.    They have planted thousands of Kauri trees and we learnt some interesting facts about them. When young, they have little leaves sticking out of their trunks, acting as protection but also there to ensure that there is more chance of photosynthesis.  Clever tree! No wonder they get so old....
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Family and beautiful places in Hemel Hempstead and Llantwit Major

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  Time is such a strange concept when you are traveling. 10 hours on a train can seem an eternity, or, with good company or spectacular scenery, is over far too quickly. So it was with the Polyglot Gathering. One moment you are surrounded by like-minded people (842 from 59 countries, speaking 196 languages), you are in your element swapping from language to language, and then in a flash, you are in another wonderful yet totally different world of family and everyday life. The PG seems so long ago already, but thankfully the motivation it gave me to learn, remains! I have checked up about The Moravian Sparrow dish Sergio was eating, and am pleased to find out that it has nothing to do with sparrows! Moravian sparrow" (moravský vrabec in Czech) is  a classic dish from the Czech Republic, particularly Moravia, that is not made with actual sparrows .  It typically involves braising pork with onions, garlic, and spices, often served with dumplings and cabbage. Hemel Hemp...
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Kaikoura - Seals galore!

Back on the road again with my dear old Mazda, Ken. I needed to have a trip to settle me down and to appreciate even more how marvelous this country is! What more special place to visit than Kaikoura, and even more amazing, Ohau Point, just north of the town.  From the moment you descend to the coastal road, you can see seals all along the coast, in the sea among the waves, on the rocks and on the stoney beach. Yet Ohau is the main breeding colony, this year far too successful for its own good. There will never be enough food for all those hungry mouths. All the little black dots on the beach are seals, basking in the sun, waiting for their parents to return from fishing. The beaches of Kaikoura are certainly not used by sunbathing visitors. Hey are covered in most areas by very jagged but stunningly beautiful rocks, forced up by the power of the huge earthquake in 2016. Who could have thought that such a scary and costly event would produce such beauty. The late sun catching the r...
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