Day 6 & 7 – Black sand beaches, I had an alpaca dream and wedding time

Karekare

Just 40km away from Auckland city you can discover a black sand beach in Karekare. When the temperature rises high, the black sand on the beach becomes so unbearable to walk barefooted. It was a cool breezy day parked up in the car park. We walked past plants that were taller than me, cave holes and steams of water. Dark clouds started to appear and we knew that it will start to rain. After the walk on the Karekare beach, we went to the nearby Piha Café for some brunch before heading to Riverhead. Piha café have an excellent breakfast lunch options, you can watch the chefs cook your food in the open kitchen.  

Black sand beach

Piha Cafe

Piha Cafe
Address: 20 Seaview Rd, Piha 0772, New Zealand

Lavender Hill farm

The next stop was Lavender Hill farm in Riverhead is the bed & breakfast we stayed for 2 nights for the wedding that I was attending. We had the whole barn at Lavender Hill farm to ourselves, 4 double bedrooms for the $720 per night rate. When we arrived, we were all excited to see the 5 Alpacas going by the names of Santana, Pepe, Tequila, Rocco and Sanchoz. There’s even an on-site shop to buy all things lavender related. For the evening J’s mum prepared a lovely meal for the bridal party and we then had a girly night of movies and pre-pampering before the big day.  

 

 

 

 

 

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Slacking on the New Zealand Travel posts but can’t wait to share more of the adventures. Here’s a throwback to the bridal party girl gang @lavenderhillnz by @chris_turner_photographer

A post shared by Le (@lebinh_x) on Jul 2, 2019 at 9:11am PDT

Markovina vineyard estate

The next morning was the day of the wedding and we visited the lavender shop for souvenirs. The glam team came over to do the bride to be and bridesmaid hair and makeup. Markovina vineyard estate was the wedding destination.  

It looked stunning that day, the ceremony was held indoors near the stone fires, at the end of the courtyard. I got to witness my good friend marry her love, best friend. Sadly, there was a bit of rain on the day, when the sky cleared, we made the rounds of visiting the rest of picture-perfect locations.  

The couple entertained us with their dancing before speeches from their dearest were made. A buffet dinner was served than we danced the night away before heading back to Lavender Hill Farm accommodation.