We stayed at the Inn by the Lake last night. It was the place Karen and Greg stayed in on their wedding night, some 34 years ago and judging by the decor, it hasn't changed since then! So while it was a bit shabby and retro in its cream and mustard 70s colour scheme, it was very comfortable and roomy and, as its name suggests, it's right by a lake surrounded by gorgeous autumn colours. Bernie and Kelly slept a solid 12 hours and were feeling a lot better for it. We went for a wander through the grounds after breakfast (included in the rate).
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| The hotel dining room |
Nick and Ger, and Sally and Mick arrived to pick us up, and very kindly took us to Bluewater Shopping Mall, a very large (by NZ standards) mall with over 300 stores, 50 restaurants and a 13 screen cinema. There we said our good byes to our lovely cousins and spent the rest of the day looking around the shops, taking photos, going to a french cafe within the mall for lunch, and having a gawk at Lee Childs who was doing a book signing!
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| Barry, Sally, Nick, Kelly, Bernie, Mick, Ger |
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| Toni, Sally, Nick, Kelly, Bernie, Mick. Ger |
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| Cousins - Bernie, Nick, Toni |
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| Ger, Bernie, Toni |
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| Dears during daylight |
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| And after sundown |
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| Decorations in daylight |
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| And after sundown |
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| Lee Child! |
We had the option of catching a bus back to our Inn, which also meant a 1.5km walk along a busy road, but decided to try Uber - a type of taxi service using local people and their own cars. It was fantastic - we got a door to door service in a matter of minutes for less than it would have cost us to use public transport!
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