Amazing holiday!

I have just come back from a wonderful week’s holiday gallivanting around the North Island, and have returned to Wellington feeling really refreshed and relaxed! Here are some highlights…

Auckland - 1
I flew up to Auckland on Sunday in time to hear Rich preach at St Pauls, and then enjoyed catching up with the lovely Johnsons for an evening. My godmother Lindsay then picked me up on Monday morning and drove us the 2 hours to the Coromandel

Pauanui
Lindsay and Geoff Fletcher have an amazing holiday home on the waterways of Pauanui, on the Coromandel Peninsula. I spent 3 days relaxing, exploring, sleeping, cycling, and my favourite – kayaking! I had SO MUCH FUN kayaking around the waterways and spying on all the nice houses… I have been thinking that a kayak could indeed be one of life’s essential necessities and could prove to be an interesting way to get to work every morning. If the wind is going in the right direction. I don’t know what I’d do if it wasn’t - I haven’t thought that far.

Pauanui Beach

Kayaking on the Pauanui waterways

We also visited Cathedral Cove, where there is a natural arch in the rock. Stunning beach and great walk down to the cove. We had lunch at Hotwater Beach where, on a sunnier day, you dig a hole in the sand and lie in the hot water!

Cathedral Cove

Auckland - 2
We returned to Auckland on the Thursday, and I spent the afternoon exploring the city and going up the Skytower to check out the amazing views of the city and its harbour. We enjoyed pizza with some of Rich and Kath’s friends in the evening and went to see “Walk the Line” in the evening – great film!!

Auckland Skytower

Rotorua
After U2 announced they weren’t coming to Auckland, I soon realised I had a one way ticket up there and no way of getting back! So I hot-footed it the 3 hours by coach over to Rotorua, home of bubbling mud and other thermal wonders, to catch up with Ben and Teri Johnson-Frow (and their oh so cute 4month old Jakob). We explored smelly Rotorua (smells of rotten eggs from the sulphur) getting quite excited by steaming pavements and sulphur pools, and then relaxed at their family bach at Lake Tarawera. The walk along the lake in the evening was awesome.

Lake Tarawera

Ben, Teri and Jakob JF

Saturday was an exciting road trip back home! We stopped off at some crazy places, admired a huge amount of the natural wildlife (!), saw the amazing Huka falls and were all glad to get back to Wellington. There is nothing like coming along the motorway and getting the first glimpse of the city and the hills around its harbour…. You know you’re home then!

One of the best feelings was realising how much I missed Wellington and my friends while I was away, and I’m excited to be back and see everyone again! It’s the first time I felt like I was coming “home” and am feeling the most settled I have in ages. I also had my first Sunday off in months, so made the most of it (and the lie in from daylight savings) to enjoy brunch at the Chocolate Fish with Cookie. I spent the evening at church reflecting how it is utterly awesome to see how God has given me so much here – All Saints is a place rich in inspiring & loving people, and I can’t believe how much has happened over the 5 months I’ve been in New Zealand.