Mount Maunganui - home come January?

Cape Town, Brazil, New York, Barcelona...there's no shortage of places I've travelled through that have struck me as the perfect place to live. But that was before I'd been to The Mount. In addition to being utterly perfect, it's also the most realistic of the five - Cape Town is too dangerous, there would be visa complications and limitations with New York and Brazil, and my Spanish is so pitifully bad that I've removed it from my resume altogether - adiós Barcelona.

The beauty of NZ is that Brits can get a 2 year visa with minimum hassle, and there are no language barriers. And the beauty of The Mount is plain for all to see:

My first impression was that it's like a mini Cape Town; the long white soft sand beach and The Mount standing tall in the background of a picture perfect landscape took me straight back to Camps Bay and Table Mountain. The Mount may not match Table Mountain in terms of size (40 mins vs 3 hours to climb) but it's perfect daily hiking material, and the base trail is gorgeous too with crystal clear turquoise water.

View from the top of The Mount

Those blues!

I spent most of my time walking - up and around The Mount and along the endless beach - but there's so much more to do: kayaking, surfing, sailing, paddle boarding etc. Plus with lots of cafes, restaurants, shops and bars it's the perfect fusion of city and the outdoors; big enough to have everything you need (and if not, Tauranga is just down the road) yet small enough to give it the cosy feel of a community. I also have friends there - a lovely Kiwi couple I met in South America just over a year ago - which adds to the temptation. Ooo, decisions!

Happy me on the beach - I've always wanted to live somewhere coastal

Onto my next and final stop in New Zealand - Auckland. Can't believe how fast this month has gone! Heading to Brisbane on Wednesday to plan my Oz travels and stay with a family friend for a few days. Excited to be going back to Straya!