Making Our Way to Auckland

Leaving Mangonui, we took a detour to see Bay of Islands, a stop we eliminated when our schedule was too full. It was super touristy and full of people, so it was a good cut. We stopped and attended church along the way, and pulled over for a quick hike to Whangarei Falls.

We stayed in an Airbnb right in the city. We really only had about a day and half, and one half of our day was repacking our suitcases to prepare for checking them in on a flight. In addition, we weren't dying to see anything in the area other than just getting a feel for it. On our earlier pass through Auckland we explored and tasted of the goodness of the Britomart section of downtown. Other than that we explored the adorable Ponsonby neighborhood (my favorite) with its cute shops, yummy restaurants and deliciously fresh looking market.

At some point we were driving around looking for a quick bite to eat when we passed a cute little corner deli-like cafe that had a sign out front:

They substituted coffee for herbal tea and we ordered the most delicious (and generous-portioned) lunch imaginable! I wish I could remember the name of it!

The morning before our flight south, we drove to Piha Beach to meet up with another YGL friend who is from New Zealand, visiting with his kids from his current home in Geneva. David grew up surfing at this beach. Its surrounding environs were like Stinson Beach in Northern California, green hills with homes looking out at the water. The sand is black! It was beautiful, and we would have liked to have spent more time there.

Weather in Northland went between warmish and coolish, but we were heading to Southland where FALL was in full swing! It was just a quick flight away.