Auckland & the Northland

90 Mile Beach
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After traveling for over 24 hours we finally arrived in Auckland, the city of sails, on Saturday, December 27^th. We arrived late at night and stayed at the Grand Chancler near the airport for the night. Once we woke up, it was back to the aiport to pickup our rental car. By 8:30 we were on the road in our White Nissan heading north towards Cape Reigna. The roads wound through rolling hills and valleys and along the coast line.

It seems the cow population has been growing throughout the northland, often seeing more cows than sheep grazing the fields. An overcast sky past by overhead and the landscape grew more decilit the further north we traveled. Five hours had passed before we rolled into the town of Ahipara, located at the base of 90 mile beach. With another 100 km remaining to the tip of Cape Reigna, we opted out on the ride and traded for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches accompanied by smooth Red Lion beers and a long walk down the dark and dreary beach. What commons composed the town seemed quiet and it was time to move on. Upon my request, we left our campsite and headed south to a the city of Whangarei in the hopes of finding an open bunk for the night.

Harbor after dinner
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The rain carried on through Sunday night. We managed to find a comfy restaurant in the harbor overlooking local sailboats and elaborate catamarans owned by Aussie vacationers. It had been a long day, and the two of us were ready to relax and have a nice dinner.

Monday, December 29^th, 2008

Road from Whangarei to Coromandel

The rain has not stopped. In fact, it is just sitting over the North Island dumping water down around us. I failed to mention to Nate until now that this is a typical phenomenon that happens when I travel anywhere. Despite the rain, its warm and we are following the crowd to the beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. If its rains through the next few days, we hear they have several vineyards open daily.