We were sitting on the deck this afternoon, listening to the ocean and enjoying beer and a glass of wine when Jan turned to me and said “now we’ve really arrived in New Zealand. I’ve enjoyed everything we’ve done so far, but this is really why I love coming to New Zealand.” I completely agree.

Jan has done an excellent job picking hotels on this trip, but this time she hit it out of the park. Everything about this place is fabulous. This next picture shows the view from the front room of our apartment. There is a road between us and the ocean, but it’s a dead end, with very little traffic.

It has a kitchen and table if you want to eat in.

And about 100 meters down the road there is a conservation area with hiking paths.

The hiking paths are moderate difficulty and well signed.

But let’s be honest here, the main attraction is the ocean. This is Jan’s happy place. I’m pretty fond of it too.

After we unpacked and got settled, we headed out for a walk along the beach. You can see how incredibly crowded the beach is here … not!

The tide was going out, and that leaves fascinating patterns in the sand.

The view, and the sound of the surf, are soothing.

The water here is quite warm. It has that “South Pacific” vibe that is exotic to us. Walking barefoot through the surf is a real treat for a poor farm boy from Saskatchewan.

We walked for 2 1/2 km along the beach and then turned around and headed home. A 5K walk isn’t bad for a couple of old farts, and besides, it was nearly wine o’clock.

It was quite warm today, even with the ocean breeze. But as I’m writing this, sitting on the deck, listening to the surf, the temperature is beginning to drop, and it feels fabulous. We feel very lucky to be here.

Tomorrow, and the day after, … more of the same.