Our first trip to Raglan was spur of the moment, but turned out better than we could have planned. We decided to check out Ngarunui Beach and we were not disappointed. It was late June, so it wasn’t swimming weather, but walking along the beach was very enjoyable. The parking lot is quite a ways above the ocean. We enjoyed the view as we walked down the paved ramp toward the beach. It was fairly steep, so walking back up to the parking lot took a bit more effort. Watching the sun set over the ocean was beautiful.

We then went to Bow Street to get some takeout for dinner. Things were a bit busy because the city was having their Matariki celebration that evening. We took our fish and chips to Joyce Petchell Park and ate while looking at the lights across the river. We then drove back to Hamilton. Around half way there, we stopped at the same overlook to enjoy the stars which were very clear and stunning to look at.