The Land Of Hobbits

Ed Sheeran, Rudimental, Passenger & Foy Vance were amazing in concert and were the perfect end to our time in Auckland. The day after the concert we went to pick up our hire car, which we have for the next couple of weeks as we explore the far northern reaches of New Zealand - Northland. To save money we opted for an 'old favourite supersaver', or in other words 'car that is older than I am'. She had so many scrapes that the car report looked like a five year old had attempted to colour in for the first time and if you wanted the radio you had to tune it by hand and then retune it every 15 or so miles, but she was ours and she was fantastic!

We headed out of Auckland on route 16, the scenic route, as the quick route was a toll road and we were in no hurry. The drive was spectacular with winding roads and rolling hills and wide open blue skies. Almost every corner I turned I wanted to pull over and take a million photos. We did stop at Omeru Reserve, a small nature reserve with a historic background. We went on a short walk, where we saw multiple waterfalls a cute babbling brook which flowed through spectacular and unusual vegetation. It was the perfect place to relax before heading to Whangarei where we will spend the next few days.