A second visit to Mansion House in Kawau Bay was undertaken this morning. Anne was dying to experience dining on coffee and cake whilst sitting in a cafe once more.

What a disappointment she received upon discovering the café closed on arrival. Peering long and hard through the window, we eventually sighted a sign notifying people of the café’s closure. A victim of the Covid19 pandemic closures, there would be no coffee and cake this day.

Plans slightly awry, the four of us turned to ambling through the mansion’s gardens where the weka freely roamed. Once highly manicured, now only a basic maintenance of lawn cutting appears to be the go, and the surrounding gardens gradually returning to wilderness.