From Auckland to Tauranga

Relaxing Morning

Ata mārie! Good morning! I woke up before 6 AM but stayed in bed for about another half hour.

Got up and made myself a cup of coffee which I took outside to sit on a lovely patio. It was breezy and 58°F but there was a little bit of sunshine out. It was so nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the tranquility that I  felt as I sat there alone. David was still sleeping as we did get in late last night. 

I was surrounded by lovely potted flowers and noisy birds. The flower variety reminded me of what I used to grow in the fall and winters in Arizona… so beautiful! I texted my Airbnb host, Linda, to see if she would like to come down for a bit.  She did and we had a lovely talk getting to know each other a little.. Linda had some great suggestions on how David and I should spend our only morning in Auckland.

I made David a cup of tea and then got ready for the day. We decided to go hike a nearby extinct volcano named Mangere Mountain. 

 The volcano was within walking distance and we made
good time getting to its base. Along the way, we passed a wonderful park with all kinds of fun equipment, like slides and rope lines, swings and a merry-go-round.The area was absolutely stunning! Trees and flowers and lush green grass areas. The sky was bright blue and dotted with clouds. We walked for a bit and then came to a huge staircase leading up.

                                           

Yep! That was the way we were supposed to go! We climbed until we got as high as we could go. From our elevated location, we could see an incredible 360° view which included the Manukau Harbour, homes, churches and businesses. 

 There were enormous trees on our walk though many of them had had branches cut off over the years. I made David get a picture of me laying on one of the stumps. It was bigger than I was long! What a wonderful way to start our day! Walked back to our Airbnb and packed up to go. 

On the Road to Tauranga

We have a 2 1/2 hour driving trip in front of us. David is driving on the left side of the road and my eyes are open wide making sure he stays there! Lol. He is doing a great job navigating this strange new driving experience.  

    

    We drove for quite a while and then saw a sign for the Red Lion bar and

restaurant.   We decided to stop and have a New Zealand beer as we sat out at an old picnic table in the back of their establishment. Behind us was a big tree that looked like a willow tree and grass meadows butting up to rolling hills. I chose a New England red lion ale and David got a pale ale from a popular brand, Speights. The icy cold beer was delicious as we sat at a picnic table, enjoying the view.

We were hoping to find another place to stop, but most of the places were tucked back in, and we were past them before we even barely saw them. We did see a lot of property that had grape vines growing. We never saw the name of the winery though. 

Barnloft Heaven

We reached our destination of Taranga at about 3 PM. The Airbnb I chose to stay at is a 1917 built barn that had been totally renovated. It is incredibly done! We were met at the gate by a barking, but friendly dog named Guinness. We hauled up our suitcases and checked out our cute barn.

Here are before, and after pictures of our heavenly barnloft Airbnb in Tauranga ( pronounced TORanga).  https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18257779?viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

 The remodel actually used some of the reclaimed wood from  the original 1917 structure. So beautifully and tastefully designed and decorated. 

We decided to go into town to get a bottle of wine for so we could sit out and have a glass and enjoy the lovely weather. We ended up getting two bottles. I chose a New Zealand Chardonnay and David chose a New Zealand red Syrah. 

We got home, poured a glass of each wine and went for a walk around the property. We met one of our hosts, Karin, and her two young daughters. There is a lovely garden on the side of our barn that has many fruit trees, and beautiful plants. 

Karin also has a beehive! She has a professional beekeeper who comes and takes care of her bees. She’ll get her own honey in the early part of next year. We walked towards the front of the house where the pool is, and ran into Drew, the other host. We joined him lounging on some beautiful Danish outdoor furniture (which Drew happens to sell). We started talking with him, and then Karin came out to join us. She brought a wonderful plate of cheeses and crackers which she generously shared with us. I think our favorite thing was this delicious creamy blue cheese. Our talking went on for about an hour and we had to get one refill of wine. Then Karen, let us try a lovely New Zealand Pinot Noir that she was drinking. Delish! Time to go get ready for dinner at a nice restaurant in town that our hosts recommended.

Dinner at Picnicka 

David and I took off for a short drive to the restaurant, Picnicka in downtown Tauranga. The parking was easy and we took the stairs up to a beautiful, glass enclosed eatery. We were greeted warmly and seated right away. 

I started off with a glass of New Zealand Cabernet Sauvignon while David ordered a Margarita tequila drink called the Chili. 

For dinner, I chose a pork belly with slaw and David got the lamb skewers and a side of cauliflower with cheese. 

My pork belly was so tender and delicious but I couldn’t eat it all. Maybe that was because the lamb skewers were equally divine and I ate lot of them! 

For dessert, David ordered a cheesecake with a passionfruit curd, and I got a shot of Sambuca. Yum. 

What an incredible way to start our first day in Tauranga!

With our bellies full and our hearts happy, we headed to our Barnloft to watch a movie before bed.