heading in a southerly direction

Driving south
Sunday morning and we were up and ready to drive south and find some nursing friends who had moved out here 3 years ago.
It was around a 3 hour drive, but with a few stops, we arrived at their place around 3pm. Caroline’s highlight was a toilet break in Helensville where the modern facilities welcomed her and informed her that she had a 10 minute limit during which to use the loo.
We drove on and arrived just in time for afternoon cream tea (with home made scones) not to mention some home made beer by the end of the afternoon.
One of the main attractions of moving to NZ was in clear evidence as soon as we walked to the rear of their house. The panoramic views across the valley below was amazing, where in the distance we could make out the outskirts of Auckland.
The remainder of the afternoon was full of conversation and general catching up with news back in the UK and discussing the challenges of emigrating to New Zealand.
A few interesting facts we discovered:
The New Zealand people celebrate Guy Fawkes night.
There is hardly any investment in the railway system in Auckland and surrounding areas. (in fact, we’ve yet to see a train, although been over many crossings)
You can purchase and brew with a distillery
You get very little holidays, although when it comes to Christmas and new year, everything closes down and everyone is on holiday.

We were shown plenty of interesting areas to visit as we journeyed south and now have them marked on our map for future reference.

The evening drew to a close as tiredness crept around the room, and slumber became the major attraction.
Zzzzzzzzz

The next morning our hosts had gone to work, and we thought they may have stolen the view and good weather, as we could hardy see 50m across the garden, which after that was shrouded in heavy grey misty cloud, which converted to rain during the next couple of hours.
However, by 10am, there were indications that the weather was lifting, and we decided to depart.
Heading for the Coromandel peninsular, we had been advised to stop off at the driving creek café. After some directions in the centre of Coromandel we found the place, which was a haven of vegan cuisine, where we sat and feasted ourselves on the veranda.
Another hour and quarter drive with views that were amazing in every sense of the word, we arrived in Hahei, near hot water beach. The accommodation comprises of small single wooden units that are very quaintly equipped. Think this might be a good 2 night stop over…