Customs Brew Bar - Wellington

When you walk through some of the streets in Wellington you can smell the amazing smell of roasted coffee beans. There are so many wonderful cafes in this city and we were lucky to try a few while we were there last month. The photos are taken at Customs Brew Bar with the most friendly staff! :)

Wellington - a city to put on your list

When I looked at the photos from our time in Wellington I can feel again what a great time we had and how much we liked this city. During our two trips to New Zealand one thing which stood out for me apart from the beauty of the country is how friendly everyone is. People smile at you on the street, are super friendly and happy to answer questions, tell you what their favourite place is to go and I think they know that they live in one of the most beautiful countries.
The sun came out again for the last 2,5 days of our trip and so we were out and about all days walking through neighbourhood, eating good food (highly recommend Loretta's, drinking good, really good coffee in many of their great coffee spots, getting craft brew beer at the garage project and went up to Mt Victoria to watch the sun set. One day we drove a little out of the city to do the Eastern Walkway, we stopped every few metres to enjoy the view. It was incredible to think that this was still part of the city and that people have their house right here within that amazing landscape. When we looked out to the water I remember saying that it feels like the end of the world here, right there where we stood.

PS: Can you spot the two people in the last photo, they were walking with their dog down there.

On the road - Northern Island New Zealand

A few photos I took on our way between Auckland and Wellington. As it was (is) Winter in New Zealand we also had a few rainy days but we didn't mind and enjoyed the beautiful landscape nevertheless the grey sky and green landscape made it look so mystic like in a fairy tale....

Rotorua - where the earth is steaming

On our way to Wellington we stopped in Rotorua. We arrived later in the afternoon and it was a fascinating image to see from the distance steam clouds lying over the place and more steam coming out from the earth. The sulphur smell is of course quite unique and takes a little while to adjust to but nevertheless I thought it was a very fascinating place. We went to one of the geothermal baths when it was already dark and did a mud and mineral water spa which was quiet an experience and I am glad we did it. The next day we explored some geysirs and went for a little walk through the redwood forrest from where we got to a look out and could see the city with its active geothermal areas from above.

A refreshment

Before we headed South we had a wonderful lunch at the Refreshment Room, if you are close to KareKare beach, I highly recommend to go. We had a really fantastic meal there!

Karekare Beach

And then there a places like Karekare beach - a wide beach with black sand just an hour away from Auckland, where you can stand and watch the endless-seeming sea hitting the shore and just let your thoughts come and go. The sand is sparkling, covered with little shells and there seem to be patterns in the sand from the waves rolling in from the sea going back and forth before the pattern gets fixed by the sun or the wind.

It's a place you like to go back and I hope we will.