Channeling Audrey

The main reason for our trip to New Zealand was for Bryn's brother's wedding.  It was way up at the top of the north island in Whangarei.  It took about two and a half hours to get there from our hotel in Whangaparaoa on the main highway...which looks a lot like a country road in the US!  There were absolutely no complaints from me as we drove along, more like squeals of excitement every time we went round a bend in the road offering us a new view.

I gave Bryn the job of taking photos of anything and everything as we drove along (not easy from a moving vehicle!)  We did pull over at a few places to check out the views and even a little beach just outside of Whangaparaoa.

It was such a beautiful drive, meandering up and down hills, through native bush full of exotic (to me) plants and hill sides dotted with sheep, horses and mostly cows - Northland is a dairy farming region.  I think the thing both of us loved the most were all the shades of green.  It's amazing how much you can grow to miss that color when you live in a desert!

We drove through some showers, but then the sun would come out and light up the hills and it was just SO PRETTY!!

We only had one missed turn, but our very unimpressed GPS got us right back on track and before long we were pulling into Owen and Melissa's driveway.

Check out the view from their front yard!

This may sound a bit strange, but is smelled SO good there.  I think it was a combination of the freshest air you can imagine mixed with blooming spring flowers.  If they sold that in a candle or spray I would have it around me all the time!

After a quick visit and helping to load up the cars, we followed Owen out of town towards the wedding venue.  First we had to stop at the local butcher.

Then it was back onto those gorgeous roads to Tutukaka.

One area we drove through had grids of stone fences everywhere, making it feel so quaint...I love it!

I know, that is an awful lot of photos of the drive, but I absolutely loved driving on these roads.  I think the pictures really capture how beautiful the country is, and I'm so glad they haven't ruined it with big old ugly highways.  

It wasn't long before we pulled into Pacific Rendezvous, the resort where the wedding would take place the next day.  Just wait til I take you on a tour of this place!