Lunch on Campbell Beach at Matakana

We picked up a snack lunch as we wandered around the market at Matakana - a "cittislow" town that is trying to be coolest spot in north NZ. We ate Paua burgers, whitebait omelettes and varied cheese at the market and picked up some bread, olive oil, crushed pea guacamole and fruit for lunch. I had difficulty getting this picture as hands were constantly attacking the food. Back in Auckland we visited the Frigate HMNZS Te Kaha which is berthed at Queens Wharf as part of the 75th celebration of the Battle of the River Plate. HMS Achilles was the first New Zealand unit to strike a blow against the enemy in World War Two, when it engaged the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spree off the coast of Uruguay on December 13 1939. The Battle of the River Plate was prior to the formation of the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1941 and HMS Achilles had been loaned to New Zealand by the Royal Navy and was crewed on the whole by New Zealanders. Today we sadly missed the parade and ceremony which re-created the HMS Achilles homecoming parade in 1940. It did mean that we had time for a leisurely coffee and to watch the departure of one of the huge cruise ships that frequent this harbour - "Voyager of the Seas"