Blue skies, green pastures and much more..

Well, thanks for waiting for the final part of this travelogue. It was a special trip and I thank all of you for being my audience so far. It was a pleasure sharing my experiences with you. Time spent with family is the most cherishable time. 

To continue onward with my journey, we visited the north shore of Auckland, which constitutes of the affluent communities in Takapuna and Devenport. Devenport is one of the prettiest towns I have ever seen - a very European, or rather English architecture, quite classy I must add. We took a ferry to that place and came back on the Harbour bridge which connects the two parts of Auckland. The ferry is a part of the daily commute of local people, how about that! We went to the CBD walk, fell in love with the skyline. I don't know what it is about skylines, perhaps I'm drawn to the harmonious juxtaposition of high rise buildings, that represent urbanisation, with the serene nature, usually the sea or its coastline. The perfect balance - progress holding hands with the environment - every environmentalist's dream come true. 

The next weekend, we went to Coromandel in New Zealand. Famous for what is called the Cathedral cove, it is around 100 kms from Auckland. The cathedral cove is a naturally formed cove by erosion due to water for many years. It was a tiring walk of around 2.5 kms to the cove, but worth all of it. The views from the topmost points of this trek are breathtakingly beautiful as well, enticing us into continuing this expedition. The journey and the destination will blow your mind away. I'm a little short of words here, no amount of words can describe the natural beauty. 

On the way back from Coromandel to Auckland, we went to the abandoned gold mines of Karangahake. A trek through the remains of a gold mine, hoping to find a little piece that'll make you rich overnight. We walked through the dark passages, dripping with water, and the railway paths built at those times. Such fun! 

After reaching Auckland, we went to the Sky Tower for witnessing the tallest tower of the Southern Hemisphere. It was a few days of the Chinese new year, and hence the whole place was decorated with Chinese symbols of celebration. My sister informed me that they illuminated the tower in Saffron, white & green on the Indian Independence Day. I appreciate their sense of togetherness, an example of unity in diversity. 

A special mention to an eatery we visited called the Lord of the Fries. It is one of those only fast food joints that is completely organic and vegan, strictly no animal products and the fries were so crunchy and tasty. Ended up going there twice, a must visit for all vegetarians who visit Auckland. I heard a branch of theirs is in a lot of cities in Australia too! Another thing that needs to be appreciated is the Auckland council's set of libraries. Free of cost, 35 books can be borrowed simultaneously and spread across many locations in Auckland. If you are looking for a specific book and you couldn't find it in the library near you, you can ask for them to transport it to your library free of cost!! It is a dream-come-true to all book lovers - my kind of heaven! (Hence, I ended up finishing 4 books in this short trip). 

I realised one thing in my trip to New Zealand - you don't need a DSLR or be a professional photographer to get amazing photos here. Every photo you click in this magical place can be your next desktop wallpaper. 

Best things about New Zealand for me: The preserved natural beauty, the libraries, the cleanliness, the fresh air, the blue lakes, the extremely polite people, and of course the silver fern :)

In the next few days, we did some last minute shopping. 

With a heavy heart, we bid adieu to one of the most friendliest, prettiest, natural, unexploited, beautiful places I have ever seen. 

A must-visit for all nature lovers !

And, I thank my sister and Jiju for being the perfect hosts and all the hospitality ! :)