Author: richwest3

January 14, 2013

I hadn’t realized this but most religions believe that when you die, if you’d been a good person, you go to New Zealand.  I’d always heard it called Heaven, but that’s just another name for New Zealand.

We just got back from three days in Auckland.  It was wonderful.  The scenery along the drive to and from was wonderful.  The city is wonderful.  The people are wonderful.  If this isn’t heaven, then I think heaven will be hard-pressed to compete with it.  -Rich

January 13, 2013

We were just looking for a place to have breakfast as we drove north through Orewa on our way back to Opua.  We found parking and were so hungry we just went to the nearest place, the Mozaik Cafe.  It was a casual place, and we figured we could get the basic eggs, toast and a coffee drink.

We were pretty surprised to look at the menu and see the kinds of dishes I’d expect to find at a more upscale restaurant.  Could the food be as good as its description in a casual little place like this?  The answer was a resounding yes!  This is the quality of food we’d expect to find at Spago, not a little cafe in New Zealand.  This is definitely a favorite! –Cyndi

January 11-12, 2013

Driving south to Auckland, the highway goes along the base of a south-facing peninsula before it reaches the Harbor Bridge.  If you continue over the bridge, you’ll arrive in Auckland, but if you exit here you’ll find yourself in the small suburban city of Takapuna. (Further down this peninsula is the upscale suburb of Devonport and its pretty village at the tip of the peninsula.) See map below.

For this first trip, we had some serious business to attend to in Takapuna before we could head on to Auckland.  Takapuna is home to our first Starbuck’s on the drive south, and Rich and I hadn’t been to Starbuck’s since April 2012. It was a Starbuck’s emergency!

After exiting the highway, it was a bit of a shock to find ourselves in this small but busy city full of traffic, traffic lights, and people.  We managed to park and locate the Starbuck’s, and going inside felt like home!  After guzzling those long-awaited frappuccinos, we went to check out a nearby marina called Bayswater.

Bayswater Marina is across the harbor from Auckland, and we were seriously considering bringing Legacy here for a time.  But we could see the handwriting on the wall:  we’d meander over to Auckland for the afternoon and then wind up in evening rush hour traffic back across the bridge.  We figured if we ever brought the boat to Auckland, it needed to be on the city side of the Harbor Bridge.

The next day we took the ferry to the Devonport’s village at the tip of the peninsula (a 12-minute ride and faster and more convenient than driving there from downtown Auckland). What we found was reminiscent of Catalina Island (back home in California), a suburban village with tree-lined streets full shops, cafes and restaurants that cater to residents and visitors alike.  It’s a laid-back, charming neighborhood and a nice place to visit.

The photo gallery below sums up the feeling of Devonport, including a picture of the Auckland skyline from the ferry ride over.  Somehow the pictures from Takapuna were all of Starbuck’s.  I guess I was a little obsessed.  The one Takapuna picture in this gallery–taken at Starbucks– is pretty much our entire memory of it for this trip.–Cyndi

(Click on any photos to enlarge and scroll.)

January – April, 2013

Heading to Auckland on the main highway, we came across a toll area about 30 miles north of the city. We could opt to continue the new section of main highway (and pay a toll), or we could turn off and take the older route, the Hibiscus Coast Highway.

The Hibiscus Coast Highway is the old coastal road, running along miles of beach and through the pretty town of Orewa before turning inland at the Whangaparaoa Peninsula to rejoin the freeway.

As we headed south, I caught my first look at the Hibiscus Coast from the Waiwera Hill Scenic Reserve overlook and was surprised how much it reminds me of the South Bay near Los Angeles.  The beaches stretch along the coast much like the beaches from Torrance to Santa Monica, and at the end is the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, so similar to the Palos Verdes Peninsula where I grew up.  Even the town of Orewa looks a lot like the Riviera Village (next to Torrance Beach).

This wasn’t as fast as the toll road, but it was definitely worth taking the time to slow down and enjoy this area. –Cyndi

January – April, 2013

During this first season in New Zealand we would end up making the round-trip drive between Opua and Auckland three times. It’s a long drive, about 4 hours, but there’s some interesting stuff on the way. Unfortunately we didn’t get to do everything, but there is one stop we never failed to make: Kaiwaka.

Kaiwaka is a tiny town on the main highway about 1 ½ hours north of Auckland and a great place to stop for lunch. There’s a wonderful little place called La Nonna Italian Bakery that makes good sandwiches, cinnamon-sugar raised donuts and other bakery goodies. (Be warned it’s closed Mondays.)

There’s another little place called Eutopia Cafe. Even if you don’t eat there, it’s fun to go see. It defies description; so I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. (We didn’t eat there so I can’t comment on the food.)

Finally there’s the Kaiwaka Cheese Shop, the kind of place where you can sample cheeses at the counter and peruse lots of gourmet foods on the shelves. It was always fun to return to Legacy and load up the fridge with our bag of goodies from this place.

These places are easy to find, right on the main road and within a block of each other. –Cyndi