New Zealand & Cook Islands Trip Review: North Island, Farm Stay in Levin, Sunrise at Cook Islands, Stars & the Night Sky

Being able to catch the sunrise at the Cook Islands. This, of course, was not planned in the itinerary but the resort was chosen by the agent based on my preference (east side of Rarotonga) for this very specific purpose. I'm glad the weather was kind and the agent's choice made it easier for me to catch the sunrise.
Farmstay at Levin was very nice too. It can be a little bit remote for city dwellers who are used to creature comforts but we saw it as a few days to disconnect from the grid and get in touch with nature. The farmhouse was built in the 1920's so it is almost 100 years old now. They had a bookshelf filled with books you could read, and a vegetable/fruit garden. There was also a barbeque area you could use. They reared horses and chickens, and my 4-year-old had a hand in (over)feeding the chickens. They have fresh eggs for you in the morning, and stocked up on breakfast provisions for our time there. Our stay at the farm coincided with cloudy skies, otherwise the view of the night sky without city light pollution would have been amazing. There weren't even street lamps. This was exactly what I had hoped for as I wanted to capture the Milky Way but the clouds decided to be in the way!