And the morning delivered in a big way.
The pools of water that lie on the beach at low tide are an incredible backdrop for sunrise reflections.
And as the sky lightens, the colours give way to brilliant blues, oranges and yellows as the sun creeps closer to the horizon.
The one thing that I was NOT expecting at all was the sun rising directly out the sea like a giant fireball. In my head, I'd imagined it coming up over the mountains to the right, so to see it rising directly out of the ocean gave my heart such a happy leap inside - I cannot recall EVER seeing this in my lifetime before. In Wellington we have too many hills in the way, and most of the time we visit beaches in NZ we've been on the west coast (and seen the sun go down) rather than the east so this was such a treat.
As you can see I found it impossible to stop taking photos - I just wanted to commit this beautiful sight to memory for all time!
Spending this morning down at the beach on my own couldn't have been a more perfect end to what had been the most incredible week from start to finish.
Soaking in this incredible richness of colour and seeing the sun rise up to meet me, well there just aren't words. It's a moment I'll never forget.
