more Winter Gardens

Auckland

Well as some of you are learning I am turning this from a work & travel experience to a more just travel experience :).  I am wrapping up work here in Auckland at the end of October & plan to travel NZ before visiting family in Papua New Guinea over the holidays.  In the meantime I am visiting & enjoying my favourite places in Auckland.  Even on a rainy, blustery day I get such joy from walking through the Auckland Domain.  With its greenery of rugby fields & different types of trees I will miss it as my commute from Newmarket to work & back.  The Wintergardens, which are meticulously kept & different everytime I visit, are definitely one of my favourite & calming places I have ever discovered. 

Gates of the Auckland Domain, opening near the Auckland City Hospital

View from the bleachers by the rugby fields

Flowers of the Wintergardens

I have never enjoyed taking pictures of flowers as much as here, I feel like Grandpa Johnston is with me everytime I am come.  He would have truly loved it, & I hope my pictures are half as good as his would have been :)



The whole section of orchids & lillies reminds me of Grandma Johnston (miss you). 

Walking home by the Auckland Museum just as the rain had passed

These may not be calallies but that is what they remind me of & therefore, remind me of Pam.  They are on the side of Mt Hobson, another of my favourite spots. 

View from Mt Hobson as the rain passes on northward.  It is said that New Zealand is the land of a 1000 rainbows & is because of this precisely.  It is always raining somewhere & sunny somewhere. 

This is the cow paddock on the side of Mt Hobson, the walk includes great views of the city, greenery, cows & sometimes a cowpie memory for your shoes when you are busy taking pictures instead of watching where you are walking :)

Will keep you up to date with my future plans as they get firmed up.  

The Coromandels.... in less than 2 days

The Coromandels

Taking advantage of 2 days off together, led Laurel & I to the Coromandels.  The first town along the way up the Thames coast is .....Thames.   After that we passed through many little bays with names like Whakatete, Ngarimu & Thornton on the way up to Coromandel town.  We stopped to eat our picnic lunch at this bay and looked across the Firth of Thames at the coastline. 

This is one of the public schools on the way up the Thames Coast.  Imagine having that beach and coastline as your area to play at recess!

It really was a gorgeous sunny day 

Sand, Sun, Water & Clouds 

These fishing limits signs were along every beach/bay on our way up the Thames Coast and we saw many fishermen sitting along the rocks, & in small aluminum boats. 

Decided to go off the beaten path a little up to Rapaura Watergardens, up in the Coromandel Peninsula Forest Park.  There were gorgeous gardens ...

and a big lillypad pond

Rapaura Falls

Stopped to see the 'Square Kauri', which although hard to tell in this photo has grown with 4 distinct edges on it..... & of course it is massive

This scenic lookout spot between towns Kereta & Manaia had just the perfect light to shine the greens from the pastures, rolling hills, & trees into the blues of the waters of the Hauraki Gulf and clouds above. 

We stopped in Coromandel town & of course bought some souvenirs & local arts.  We have realized that all kiwiana is cheaper outside of Auckland & therefore take advantage of it when passing through all the wonderful towns along the way.  We carried on highway 25, the pacific coast highway, towards Whitianga where we would settle in for the night. 

Another scenic lookout

faint glimmer of a rainbow in there, New Zealand is the land of a 1000 rainbows........ mostly because it is always raining somewhere and always sunny somewhere, sometimes they combine  :)

So we stayed at the On the Beach backpackers, this vibrantly painted awesome hostel where we had our own bedroom with twin beds, living room area with TV, kitchen and bathroom for $26 each!  Definitely a spot to come back to & Sue the manager was hilarious, helpful & could probably get you a deal with anybody for anything in the town of Whitiangi. 

These are some of the views from the beach right across the road from the hostel...... oh & I really like falling asleep to the waves crashing in

Seeing as it wasn't shaping up for the greatest day weatherwise we walked the town of Whitianga, noted fun things to do if & when returning to the area as it truly isn't more than 2 1/2 - 3hours away from Auckland.  We carried on to Hahei, a cute beach town, where Cathedral Cove is located. 

Our walk out to Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

No trip is complete without the sheep shot.  This Romney was about 2 feet from me on the path back up to the carpark & really couldn't have cared less that I was there!

So a fun quick trip through the Coromandels and as Spring has officially started, September 1st, I am looking forward to warmer weather, more sun and beach time  :)