Weekend in Leigh

We took advantage of a three-day weekend (for Auckland's 175th birthday) and set out for Leigh this weekend. This small town is just over an hour's drive north of Auckland, and many of Emma's extended family have lived here in the past, although they all live elsewhere now.

One of our friends had rented a bach (pronounced 'batch', the equivalent of a summer cottage or cabin) for the weekend, and we were invited to stay for the weekend. The view from the balcony was pretty alright:

We arrived after work on Friday night and headed over to Leigh Sawmill, an adorable, rustic brewery/restaurant on the other side of town (ie. a 15-minute walk). They have a great indoor-outdoor setup, complete with a grassy courtyard with bocce, and a playground that's meant for children but oft utilized by adults. The food was fantastic, and they had a lovely crystal wheat beer and a delicious stout on tap, amongst others. We were told in advance by our waitress that the stout was 6.5% alcohol, a warning that some of our group would fail to heed.

Our friend Imee had bought tickets for a concert at the Sawmill on Friday night (it's also a music venue!). We had never seen the headlining band before, but they put on a great show. They're called the Hipstamatics, and their thing is funk covers of popular songs. We decided that we definitely wanted to see them again during our time in Auckland.

On Saturday morning, Emma and the other girls headed out for a 10k run, and Justin went for a short hike up near Goat Island, a marine reserve that is a popular snorkeling destination. After that, we headed to Matakana Market, which appears to be where all ~2 million Aucklanders go on Saturday mornings. The market was packed, but well worth checking out. Later, we headed to Goat Island to check out the snorkeling. The Island sits just about 100m off the mainland, so we were able to snorkel over to it and relax on it's shore. En route, Justin saw several fish, but Emma was not paying attention and did not see any. Then, it was time for some sunbathing. The beach at Goal Island is beautiful, but busy:

 The water looked spectacular.

 Goat Island from the mainland.

We headed back to the Sawmill Pub on Saturday night. "Leigh Bar" had also been an option (the only other restaurant in town), but it didn't quite have the atmosphere of the Sawmill, and had only two meal choices on the menu. We all ordered the 'appetizer ribs', which is a massive plate filled with delicious ribs that none of us could believe was listed as an appetizer.

We rose with the sun on Sunday morning, ready for some surfing lessons.

We headed to Tawharanui beach, about 30 mins from Leigh. Most of the drive is along an unsealed (gravel) road, but that doesn't stop beach-goers. The place was packed. We unfortunately failed to take any photos, but it was another beautiful beach. Both of us got a surf lesson, and while Justin was hanging 10 in no time, Emma spent most of the time being churned around under the waves. Our instructor told us that the conditions were particularly challenging that day (but he may have just said this to make Emma feel better).

We then headed back into Auckland, with a stop at the Puhoi pub, a popular destination for bikers (the leather Harley Davidson kind rather than the road biking kind). We then spent the evening at the Auckland Seafood Festival, where we were very excited to get the chance to see the Hipstamatics again (they might start to think that we are their groupies). We also got to stuff our faces with fish and chips (nothing special), mussel tortellini (amazing), and whitebait fritters (meh).