Hamilton

We visited this city primarily to meet another one of Carrie’s friends from Bikram teacher training, Nikki, a lovely lady with Maori and British heritage. Carrie taught the 10am class and we took Nikki’s 4pm class on the same day with an excellent lunch at a place called Hayes Common Eatery, the best meal we’ve had in NZ so far. Hamilton seemed like a pleasant small city and we also went down to its’ lake and museum.

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Bay of Plenty

A lady from the Bikram class Carrie taught in Hamilton let us stay in her beach front home Papamoa which was brilliant as we had the chance to visit Eileen Clarke from Everdon who emigrated to NZ three years ago and lives ten minutes from this house at Ocean Shores Village a retirement home in Mount Maunganui. It was lovely to see her and she seems very happy and at the centre of another community which is of course where she was in Everdon, however here she is more independent and closer to her family.