Finally getting down to the business of sharing this amazing trip with you! Looking back on it, every day held new and inspiring views.

Note: this trip began the last week of February, just as the first cases of the corona virus were starting in the US.  Arriving home last week, as a safety measure, I decided to self-quarantine for 2 weeks, even though I have no symptoms.

In case of any jet lag, I arrived a day early. Went across the street to walk around Parnell Rose Garden in Auckland.  Reminder to self:  They drive on the opposite side! Be extra careful crossing streets!

I could tell it was a magical place when I heard a unique sound in a cemetery on a hill, as if it was whispering to me. Stopped to sketch this tree, and then a few flowers in the gardens.  

The next day, the rest of the group arrived. There were 6 of us plus Karen, an Art Safari tutor, and Phil, a guide with Wrybill Bird Tours. We left to get lunch at a local bakery, to Parnell Park to enjoy our lunches in the warm sun, and then off to Devonport’s north shore to walk and sketch at Torpedo Bay. All in all, a very good start!

Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto Island

Auckland skyline

We sketched from here, a former military fort.

The next day, we headed to the Coromandel Peninsula, stopping at Tairua for lunch and a sketch, then on to Whitianga, in Mercury Bay.

Whitianga scene

Glad to have Phil as our guide, he knew where to find the birds!