Sightseeing in Auckland Part II

                                                                 –My Time in New Zealand

My time in New Zealand was coming to an end but not before spending a day sightseeing in Auckland! Ceilhe (K-Lee) co-owner of Time Unlimited Tours and her wonderful team took me around and showed me a great time! One to remember fo’ sho!

Everyone was hungry so after some express shopping (AGAIN!) in a shop with fabu indigenous jewelry it was a race to catch the Blue Rose Cafe before they closed. The Blue Rose Cafe offers up what they call Pacific and Māori Fusion. And boy oh boy, was the food DELISH!

Then We Run Off To…

After that amazing meal, it was up to the top of Maungawhau (Mt. Eden). What an amazing, amazing view!!! Below, Ceilhe (K-Lee) gives me some background as we stand at the summit…

I certainly wished we had much more time to explore, I would’ve loved to have been able to walk around the entire rim of the crater!

Now The Race is TRULY On!

After the photo ops, there was one more place they wanted me to see…Piha Beach, on the other side of the rainforest. We were in a race against time as dusk was approaching in about a couple hours. So we hopped back in the van and after a brief stop at Ceilhe’s to say goodbye to her, her daughter and the dog, her sister Kristi, Grace and I were off!

Got to see another section of Auckland as we made our way and one thing I gotta say, the roads in the northern part of New Zealand are impeccable! I couldn’t believe I didn’t see (or feel) any potholes! That’s not to say there aren’t any, but not on the roads I traveled.

We were once again at the top of a mountain when we got out the van but when I looked down, man oh man!

Piha Beach with it’s black sand due to volcanic activity and the majestic Lion Rock was the site of the famous scene in the 1993 film The Piano. It stars Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin (who grew up in New Zealand). As I stood on the sand, I played back the image of the piano on the beach. Geez, gotta check that flick out again, it’s been years.

Dusk Turns Into Night

So now we are at the end of the day and after being dropped off at my hotel there’s one more thing I HAD to do before getting on the plane the next day. I HAD to go back to Giapo Ice Cream ONE. MORE. TIME.

Now my day was truly complete! Gonna leave ya with some more pics from the day…