Day 1 in NZ

Second leg of journey ok. We watched the sunrise over the Great Barrier Reef- several miles over, in fact. A sliver of burning red soaring into the palest blue with bookends of deepest indigo. when the sun finally burst above the clouds, it was blinding. I half expected a heavenly choir to burst forth in appreciation. Instead, breakfast arrived. We arrived in Auckland at 8.45am to a sleepy airport, friendly people and warm weather (yes, it's just lovely- thinking of you all!). Picked up our car- a rather battered blue estate of indeterminate origin. The car hire clerk had to draw so many dents and scratches on the diagram of car condition that it just looked like a car buried under scribble.First things first - stopped to pick up coffee and doughnuts like we were NYPD cops - and left Auckland to drive along the Pacific Ocean highway to Opito Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula. Scenery became increasingly stunning and when I can figure out how to upload photos I 'll be able to show you! Any advice from back home...... Nick??????Drove through a bird nature reserve next to the coastnand saw birds of prey, odd gulls and cute little blackbird size birds with orange flashes and white tufts. As my Japanese girls would say.... Cute!!! Breathtaking views as we climbed into the hills - we could have photographed every scene it 's all so gorgeous. It's a bit like being in a weird dream - the scenery looks familiar but on closer inspection is just different- same green, same hills, same cows, same pine trees as Scotland just on a totally different scale and with exotic palms/ferns thrown in. Pampas grass grows wild in huge colonies or in wild, improbable tufts springing out of rock faces beside the road.The sea is a stunning pale greeny blue, the earth is a richer red and the rock is orange in places. We stopped in Coromandel itself- a relic of the 1800 's gold rush- still quaint with little verandahs outside all the shops. Then on to Opito Bay which is only reached by a gravel, winding road with lurching drops on one side and rock face on the other. We're in a Homestay- B&B- and our landlady is absolutely lovely. She's a quilter so lots to discuss.We had tea and cakes on the deck ( not a diddly pit in sight, only 2 lovely dogs) ten walked along a glorious deserted sandy beach and up onto a headland where Maori's used to gather to defend themselves against rival Maori's, burying sweet potatoes in hollows in the ground to feed themselves. more stunning views. Nowabout to shower (2 days of travelling to wash off!) and our landlady is cooking dinner for us. Then hopefully about 10 hours sleep so that we feel human again - being awake at the mo is a bit like a cross between sleepwalking and hallucinating. Loads of love xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx