First Waterfall

Just across the road from Kare Kare Beach, we hiked into the woods about 5 minutes and were at our first New Zealand waterfall.



One thing I never knew or expected is that NZ is a rain forest! This means lots of rain and lots of trees, especially very unusual and pre-historic ones like these guys.



Something about water falling is so beautiful & majestic. Little did I realize this would be the first of over thousands of waterfalls we'd see in the next 2 weeks.



I was really fascinated by the peculiar trees & very glad this wasn't a tropical (HOT!) rain forest.



We're going to see about putting something like this in our new backyard ;)



We made one last quick stop before lunch at One Tree Hill- a peak overlooking Auckland and the surrounding countryside and harbors.



It's not often you see a dam and a waterfall right together.



Our lunch stop was included in the tour price (drinks extra) and our guide took us to Soljans Winery & Cafe for a very yummy lunch. We sat outside on the patio with our small group (2 others) and our guide, enjoying the beautiful weather and getting ready for the wine stops in the afternoon.



Do we have trees like this here? I always imagined something like this in the French countryside on a perfectly manicured palatial estate...maybe I watch too many movies?

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: I've had a teeny chance to get slightly caught up on pictures, but I'm still weeks behind!