Goodbye NZ, we'll miss you!

We went back to the house and got ready to head out for a nice dinner at Tapiano Bar and Bistro. I forgot the camera and I actually stopped carrying the iPhone with me the last week we were there, which was very nice!  But that means no pics of this delicious meal, our last in New Zealand.  We really wanted to go to Leigh Sawmill Cafe and Micro Brewery but they were closed for a private event.  We ended up having a great meal at this place and ran into two of the winemakers we had met in the area while dining!  

We had an amazing honeymoon and feel so lucky that we got to see this magnificent part of the world.  We'll be back and next time we'll definitely visit the south island as well.  We're so grateful to Sue and Dennis for all of their help and all the fun times!  Hope to see you again soon, friends!

Brick Bay

We tasted a couple of wines at Brick Bay as well and had some snacks.  The building is very cool.  The guy who owns the place is seems to own a lot of this little part of the country--the winery and sculpture trail, his own really cool house with its own sculptures and most of Matakana.

Brick Bay Winery and Sculpture Trail

Brick Bay is a unique winery that was literally in our backyard.  We finally made it there on the last day.  We walked through the trail for about an hour and a half.  The sculptures are placed throughout the property creating an outdoor gallery.  Sometimes they're really noticeable and out there and others sneak up on you...

last day in NZ

We wanted to spend some time in the water but the day was overcast and chilly which sort of fit the mood since I was so sad to be leaving.  Not great for the beach.  So we ended the trip like we started it--with exploring and delicious meals!  We started at the Honey Centre then headed up the road to Ransom winery for some tasty food and remarkably good wine.  We also had a really nice chat with the winemaker's wife, Marion Ransom.

Auckland

We spent Thursday in Auckland on bikes with our tour guide, Sue.  It's a great city for riding--we took the bikes on the ferry over to Devonport which is the oldest neighborhood in the city. North Head is at the end of this neighborhood and is an old military base full of tunnels and paths.  And it has a great view of downtown.  Then we headed back on the ferry and rode along the water to St. Heliers where the bike path ends.

Heading Home from Northland

The sun set during our drive home.  Since the rest of the trip was spent on the east coast, this is the only sunset we got to see and it was spectacular!

Giant Kauris

Driving back to Sandspit, we stopped at Waipoua Kauri Forest. These are the two biggest (and oldest)  Kauri trees in New Zealand. And the group of trees is called the Four Sisters. The pictures don't really indicate how huge these things are.    

The bus stalled out at the dunes which gave us a little scare.  Fortunately the driver was able to track down a friendly Kiwi who was willing to give us a tow and he got it running again.  We then headed down 90 mile beach for the last leg of our journey on the bus.   It was so cool to drive down the beach (which is actually more like 60 km, not 90 miles).  We stopped to check out another rock with a hole in it and yasu and I ran over to put our feet in the Tasman Sea.

Sand Dunes

After checking out Cape Reinga, we started heading back down the west coast.  We stopped at some massive sand dunes for sand sledding.  It was SO FUN!!!  It's hard climbing up the dunes but coming down totally makes it worth it!

views from Cape Reinga

We had great weather for Cape Reinga which is at the top of the north island. You could see the Three Kings which are three islands several miles out.  This is a rare occurrence so we felt lucky to see them.  You can just barely make them out in the lighthouse pic.  In the picture with the waves in the middle and the one with the signs, you are looking at the Pacific Ocean meeting the Tasman Sea.  Even on the calmest day there is some indication of this meeting point.  On stormy days the waves are huge, we're told.