Sunday morning - farewell Auckland, looking to the Northlands

Hello! I have been promising a proper post and not doing it, but now it's Sunday morning, I have no work deadlines until Tuesday night, and I have half an hour before the SuperShuttle picks me up to head for the airport where I'll pick up a car and then drive north!

I've been in Auckland for six days, which seems a bit odd when most people fly through on their way to other places, but I wanted a bit of time to breathe after the chaos of family in Australia, and to be able to look around as well as get on with work. I wanted to get a bit of a feel for the place, rather than just glancing at it. So I did look around, and this is what I saw... *g*

Sunday
I walked down to the waterfront, where there was a boat show going on, then to have a look in the Maritime Museum - and I couldn't resist going for a "heritage sail" around the bay. I even got to help hoist the sails when we set off! *g* All very beautiful...




Plus I've found the panorama function on my phone... *vbg*

( Monday... )

Monday's adventures

I was all set to post as I went along today - only to find that the very Northlands wasn't giving me internet. Waah! Oh well, let's see what I can do in the traditional way before I go to bed... *g*

I set off nice and early, because Cape Reinga is about three hours from Paihia, and I thought I might want to stop at places on the way too. In the end I did that on the way back, and it worked really well. So I headed north, again with no view of the sea, but rounded hills, the most winding road I've been on over some mountains (and I've driven over mountains in Greece) - this was like a slalom! Past the most gorgeous red trees, and wild turkeys! Which I couldn't stop to take photos of, unfortunately, but I promise - wild turkeys! I hadn't been expecting them... *g*

My trip this year is all about oceans meeting! At Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia it was where the Indian Ocean meets the Southern Ocean. Today at Cape Reinga, by the lighthouse, it was where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. I'm not sure I've ever seen the place where seas meet before, and now twice in one trip. *g* See the waves going in two different directions, towards each other? How cool is that! Not to mention how spectacular the views were in general.

( And more pics... *g* )