BLAIR AND SUSAN – A Home Free Global Life

For our final stop of this seven week journey on the north island we spent 4 days in the picturesque coastal village of Ngunguru, tucked away on the Tutukaka Coast, about 3 hours north of Auckland.  It’s a place known for dramatic headlands and pristine beaches.  Read more →

From Waipapa we drove 2 hours north to our most northerly destination in New Zealand.  We are staying on a Protea flower farm in the countryside, not really close to anything at all.  This was the most northerly place we could find accommodation in order to visit Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach, Read more →

Continuing our journey north the next stop was a small farm just outside Waipapa, not far from Bay of Islands.  We visited the Bay of Islands in 2023 during our cruise from Vancouver, Canada to Sydney, Australia and found it so beautiful we wanted to return.  Waipapa is a growing rural settlement in the Far North District and while it serves primarily as a shopping hub for the area, it is surround by rolling hills, orchards, cattle and sheep farms, and historic landmarks. Read more →

Whangaparaoa is a scenic, 11 km long peninsula reaching into the Hauraki Gulf and it’s common to see orcas or dolphins in the surrounding waters.  You can walk from one side of the peninsula to the other in about 20  minutes.  Located at the tip is Shakespear Regional Park with one of New Zealand’s most visited open sanctuaries.  Read more →

Instead of the hustle and bustle of a city we opted for the rural quiet of Hastings in the Hawke’s Bay Wine Region.  It’s our first time exploring this part of New Zealand and we ended up on a charming small farm tucked between sprawling apple orchards and sun-drenched wineries.  It’s the perfect place, Read more →

I admit it….I am a Lord of The Rings and a Hobbit fan 😃 This is why we have returned to Rotorua, so I can visit Hobbiton again 💕  We were last here over 6 years ago and of course I was just as excited as the first time for the opportunity to tour the magical place called The Shire.  But more on that later. Read more →

Auckland is often treated as a mere gateway to the rest of New Zealand but where else can you grab a flat white at 9am, hike to the rim of 20,000 year-old volcano by noon, and be sipping a Syrah on a vineyard-covered island by sunset.  This city of 1.8 million is squeezed onto a narrow strip of land Read more →