Auckland: it's Autumn - what do you expect?

New Zealand, a breathtaking wonderland land of beautiful beaches, dramatic moutain landscapes and andless plains, home to million of sheeps (literally, I'm not talking about the New Zealanders here!), full of cool "Lord of the Rings"-locations. That's basically what we imagined it to be here, after heaving read guide books, seen pictures and listend to friends who apparently found the land of their dreams in New Zealand.
However, reality unfurtunately was more like "New Zealand, a breathtaking winterland of beautiful RAIN, dramatic RAIN and endless RAIN, home to millions of RAINDROPS, full of cool temperatures.
Our welcome at the airport was already an indicator for "cool" things to come as it was more than cold: Here we are, two tired backpackers, with a bad mood but no plan, and we're the ones the guys at customs pick out of the crowd to entertain themselves on an otherwise apparently boring sunday afternoon: We're being brought to a seperate place and interrrogated as if we're the Corleone family on a winter holiday: Where do you wanna go in New Zealand, whic places do you know, where have you been so far, what was you job back home, how long did you do that, do you take drugs, what kind of medicamentation do you have with you, is there any medicamentation which you need prescriptionsfor, etc. Our travel medinice kit was thoroughly searched, our shoes brought to some other place for disinfection, and after all it took about an hour before they finally decided that we're not a risk for the general public of New Zealand and let us go our way.
Our first stop, Auckland, didn't do much to lift the mood, it had little more to offer than a badly heated hostel and lots of rain. The only things worth mentioning are the Auckland Museum (What else to do on a rainy day than go to a museum?!) and the local Kathmandu that had a brilliant sale for thermal underwear and warm sweaters.
So, equipped with enough layers of warm clothing and El Cheapo, our new rental car, we headed out to the Coromandel Peninsula and then further down the east coast, hoping to find some the New Zealand mentioned above. Unfortunately, pretty much all we found was more rain and lots of places with a big fat "Awesome place when the sune is shining, not to mention in summer"-tag attached to them. Quite depressing actually...
However, as always there's exception's to the rule and in this case that exception is Cathedral Cove, an amzingly beauttiful beach on the east coast of the Peninsula Coromandel. It was all the more beautiful as it was graced with the first sunny morning we ever had in New Zealand.
But enough complaining, in the end it's fall so I guess that sort of weather and those temperatures are just what fall's like in New Zealand. Our next stop will be Rotorua, according to the guide the Maori-heartland of New Zealand. On top of that that area is known for its hot springs and geysirs, so if it should continue to rain and be freezing, will just hop into the next hot whirlpool....