11.01.2018 - from Cooks Beach to Whangarei

Jana had to get up very early today, and then we left around 9:30 ;-). There were again several hours of driving and kilometers ahead. But before that, we picked up some of these extremely delicious avocados from the neighboring property.

We skipped the tourist highlights here, the Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove Beach, only took a photo from a distance as we dropped off 2 German hitchhikers there.

The drive through the Coromandel Forest Park was very beautiful, endless greenery again. Between the pine trees, there were these giant tree ferns, palms, and manuka trees.

On the way, it becomes apparent that the North Island is more densely populated than the South Island. There was heavy traffic and even congestion. The motorway passing Auckland is five lanes wide and heavily traveled.

Finally, we arrived and of course, there was a steep hill up to our accommodation and... what a surprise, with a beautiful view of the Pacific, east coast.

After a quick refreshment in the same, Hala, our host, took us on a walk to show us her land. We visited her floppy-eared goats and chickens. She also had many good suggestions for planning the next 3 sunny days that we will be here. It's so nice that we encounter this openness and warm hospitality again.