You step into the woods. The trees ask you to dance. You are in a completely different world. You smell the fresh air, the leaves, the earth. Your lungs fill up with Oxygen. 

You step out of the car. The engine goes to rest, and your ears begin to tune on to a different rhythm. The   sway of the branches right above your head. The mysterious wood knocking of the birds. The gentle cracking sounds under your toes. You walk on the soft ground, on a pillow-like cover of fallen leaves. A little dim light finds its way through the green layers.  

We spent the last weekend in Awhi Farm - a centre for sustainable practice. The name in Maori means "to take care of", "to nurture". It is a little paradise in the middle of nature. Isolated from the "modern, hight tech world". No electricity, maybe just some solar panels. No heating, just your sleeping bag. No light at night, just the moon and the shining stars above you, and in the morning, waking you up, the first ray of light. Compost toilet or the bush. Shower only at the Squash Club nearby, or at the natural hot pools. No charger for your phones, but real birds chirping around. No supermarket on the corner, yet a fascinating food forest and hens that nourish you. Just pure nature.

You loose connectivity, yet reconnect. With the people around you. With yourself.

​Simplicity, at its best.

I love long weekends. The first long weekend that came up since our arrival was Labour Day weekend. New Zealand celebrates it on the 4th Monday of October. It is very similar to the May 1 celebrations in Europe. It marks the beginning of the official BBQ season. Gardening stores fill up their spring flower stocks and go on huge sales with a myriad of colours in blossom. They also start heating the pools, slowly paving the way for summer days. :) ​A perfect time to enjoy the outdoors and escape into pure nature.

Labour Day couldn't have happened in a better moment. This year. For us. This long weekend was a special one. We celebrated. A first birthday. Parenthood. Ourselves. :)

So we picked a special place to visit. We went to discover the most Northern part of the North Island, the Far North, the tip of New Zealand, aka the Northland region. Where the road ends. Where the seas meet.

Have you ever thought of a public toilet as a piece of art? Are you looking for a new experience? Well, New Zealand art scene has something incredible to offer! 

We were on our way to discover the Northland Region of New Zealand, the very top of the North Island, looking forward to see where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean when we got really hungry and decided to stop at the next occasion. By chance, the next town was Kawakawa, a tiny little place along the road. It quickly turned out that it was not just a regular town! It was home to the world famous Austrian artist-architect of the 20th century, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who spent his last years living in New Zealand! And he designed this toilet here! :)