Month: January 2026

On Monday morning after we got up, we headed to the kitchen where there was a lot set out for breakfast. She had fresh cheese scones and fruit muffins as well as 2 kinds of bread from a local bakery. In addition there were juices, cereals, yogurt, homemade jams and fresh eggs from her chickens! There was lots of activity in the kitchen as people prepared to head out for the day.

The forecast was for rain by afternoon including some thunderstorms. We were happy to see blue skies as we headed north. We went to a beach she had recommended we visit. It was a beautiful, large sandy beach with lots of people. A few were swimming. Others were in kayaks or on stand up paddle boards.

From the beach, we continued on, stopping to do a short walk to a lookout at Hawkes Lookout.

We carried on further north to the town of Takaka. The road was very twisty with lots of ups and downs. We stopped for a late lunch/early dinner while there.

It was time to turn around and return to our place for the night. It was busier and noisier tonight as lots of people were taking advantage of the kitchen! Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler with rain, but we’ll wait and see what the morning brings!

Sunday morning we headed out for a fairly long drive to our next location. As we began our drive, we had low lying clouds through the hills.

Eventually we made it to the coast and we found a couple of coves where we pulled off the road and found quite a few seals. They were just below us on the rocks. We even saw a mother nursing her baby.

We finally got to our stop for the night. What a beautiful place we have for the next two nights! It’s an eco lodge – with 8 rooms and common areas including a full kitchen.

We took advantage of the kitchen to cook some chicken and meet some of the other guests. Some were from the Netherlands, Key West, San Francisco and other countries. It was nice to share stories of where we had travelled and get ideas for future stops.

Tomorrow we make a day trip….