Water everywhere!

Just an ordinary water tank in the garden. Rainwater only - no rain no water.

The Northernmost point of New Zealand - Cape Reinga where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea.

Most coastal towns have wharfs with fish weinghing in hooks. This marlin was  over 100 kg.

On the way to Cape Reinga along 90 mile beach by coach!

A small offshore island with a hole in the rock.

Dolphins playing in the bow wave of the ferry.

Most of the small towns and villages in New Zealand have no main water supply as they are so isolated. People get their own water by having huge tanks in their gardens fed by pipes from rainwater off the roof. This makes you much more careful about how much water you use because if the tank runs dry there is no more water until the next rain. How often do you really need to do the washing? How long should your shower be? Do you need to run the tap all the time whilst you brush your teeth?
With 2 long narrow islands making up most of New Zealand nowhere is very far from the coast. Fishing and boating are major sports and tourist trips to islands and marine reserves are very popular. There is usually a dolphin or two to be seen when out in a boat and they play around the boats and just offshore. There are many more fish in the seas around New Zealand as they have not been overfished in the way the seas around Britain have. If you catch a fish here it has to be beyond a certain size before you can keep it. If you are caught with fish too small you could loose your boat and all your fishing gear as a punishment.

Swimming, diving, snorkelling, surfing and body boarding are all popular around the coast and the local school has sports day on the beach with most of the races in the water!