Another day in Paradise!

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As we approach the end of our trip and try get our minds firmly set on Christmas we have opted to stay in an apartment in Whitiang, on the Coromandel Peninsular. This is within relatively close distance from Auckland and our flight home. And what a place we have chosen - overlooking Mercury Bay and the Pacific in which we had a little dip today.

When we arrived yesterday from Rotorua it looked as though it might rain. And it did! Not quite what we had expected, even though the temperature was still in the early 20's. The sky stayed grey for most of the evening and the prospects for today were not good. Hurricane Evan that caused such havoc in Fiji last week was said to be the cause and that it would be wet and windy until Tuesday! However, it is good to see that weather forecasts are often wrong in other counties as well. Apart from a few showers the sun finally came through and it is currently a glorious sunny day and very hot in the shade.

Our apartment has a balcony which overlooks the ocean and is superbly fitted out. Here we sat and had a glass of wine late last night whilst listening to the sounds of the ocean and breakfast and lunch today. And apart from strolls along the beach and a quick ferry trip to the peninsular opposite, today has been very much a relax day.

Of course, the geological story can't be ignored particularly as we are staying in an area prone to tsunamis as is evidenced by the local evacuation procedure notices displayed around town. The safe zone is considered to be above the 20 m mark which is clearly signed so in the event of an earthquake or sudden drop in sea level we have some ground to make up as we are currently only at 6 m even on the upper floor of this block!

To think that in just a few days this will all be but a dream....! Oh well, back to the present and paradise!

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Photos

Paradise Found!
View from our balcony