Today we wnt to Whangarei Heads.

Jack was dissapointed at first as the first beach looked out over the Oil Refinery. The toilets were not very nice (but they did have paper in ).

We took breakfast with us and sat ate fresh bread and cheese on a picnic table. Every beach we went to today had fantastic picnic tables and BBQ's to use. How neat.

We went further up Whangarei Heads (Ocean Beach) this is where the real beaches start. There were only a few people on them and they are patrolled by life gaurds. We got talking to a couple on the beahc who had a baby goat with them !!!

We climbed up a massive sand dune and and looked out at the coast and the next beach along.

Next we went to a cafe and had drinks. This was on the way to our next destination along the Heads. There are no cafe's or shops on the beaches anywhere. We sat over looking a massive lake with a strong smell of flowers around it. Its Saturday so there are a few young families around having ice-cream.

The next beach we went to (Pataua south & north) was at the top of the Heads and slightly North (that would be Pataua North then ). It looked like a pebble beach at first, but when you got to it, it was full of sea shells. I was collecting Scallop, Oyster and Mussle shells.

This little inlet was so shallow loads of young children were around playing in the water and it was only ankle deep and they were about 30m out.

The seashore had chalet type properties along it. They looked like holiday homes meters from the beach. The children were playing in canoe's, fishing and jumping off the bridge a bit further on.

There was a second beach just around the corner and people were surfing on it. These two beaches were a total contrast. We walked over a footbridge where some kids were jumping into the water and then letting the current wash them up at the shore. We ate a picnic of King Prawns down there.

We went out that evening into Whangarei to a pub called the Dickens. It was very busy for a Staurday night according to the locals, there were about 15 people in there  This was a pub along the main drag.

We met a couple Jack had contacted off the net in there, Darren & Rachel "Enfield" on expats (more about them later).

There were no kids hanging around. I asked about this and Rachel said that the police and council wont let them sit around the town because they look untidy. Its the main summer holidays and there is not a group of kids in sight hanging around.