This is Lake Rotoura, one of the many spectacular scenes we saw on our long trip today.

To be honest the journey was nowhere near as bad as I had anticipated. There are only about 4 million people on the North Island, so there is plenty of space and so much to see. It really is awe inspiring.

It feels like you have plenty of time and space to really breath. So different to Sydney. The houses are low level and sprawl around. The vegetation is lush and green. I've never seen so much natural beauty. The pace here is totally different to Sydney

It's very easy and laid back.

Have I found my natural environment?