Welcome Michelle and Chris!

We were really pumped when Michelle and Chris decided to swing by (from Halifax no less) for a visit. They arrived on Aug 27 in time to celebrate Scott's birthday. It has been amazing to have such good friends here to visit, and as an added bonus, it seems they brought some sunny weather with them (thank god).

On Saturday, we crammed into the Subaru and started out for the Coromandel Peninsula. The peninsula juts into the pacific east of Auckland, about a 2 hour drive from the city. The clear day made for some fantastic scenery along the way. We got settled in our great cottage (complete with outdoor hot tub), and set out to explore Coromandel Town. It is an old gold mining town jam packed with heritage buildings, great cafes, and artsy shops. We panned for gold at the Coromandel battery but sadly lefty sans nugget. Scott bailed in the creek so took with him a soaked sneaker and pants. We finished the afternoon with a short hike on the ridge above the town to catch part of the sunset, and then headed home to admire the southern hempisphere consetllations while sipping vino and soaking in the hot tub. Heaven.

The scene from one of several stops we made along the drive

to take in the amazing landscape

The MacAulays with Coromandel Town in the background

We were up bright and early the next morning to start the day. First up, a great brekkie in one of the town's cafes (Chris had already mastered the complex art of ordering a kiwi coffee by this point). We hit the road to drive to the eastern side of the peninusla. We took the road less travelled and made a few stops along the way, one to visit a waterfall and the other to see a group of the massive, towering, solid-as-a-rock, Kauri trees. The definite highlight of the day was hiking to famous Cathedral Cove beach to see the impressive limestone rock arch and natural waterfall shower. Before heading back to Auckland that afternoon, we re-fueled at a great cafe near the hot water beach in the area.

Along the hike to Cathedral Cove

Mich and I with the limestone arch in the background...the pic doesn't do the impressive structure justice.

After a great weekend escape, Michelle and Chris left for their south island adventure and we got back to our usual thing here in Auckland. We're looking forward to having our visitors back for one more night at the end of this week before they head back to Canada.