Our first tramp

I'm a little behind on my posts so I will start trying to catch up now! A week or so ago Brian and I went camping at Piha beach, about 45 minutes west of Auckland. Even though we don't LIVE in Auckland, it really felt like a nice weekend getaway from the city. This is Piha:

Not too bad, huh? When we arrived the weather felt really similar to the Washington coast weather; rainy, grey, windy, and cold. It rained for the first day/evening we were there but was pretty nice the rest of the time. Before setting up camp we walked around the drizzly beach and made some beach art:

We set up our tent and tried to set out our damp clothes to dry but we didn't have a line or clothes pins so we had to improvise. Here's a photo that makes us really look like backpackers. (10 min after setting this stuff out, it started to rain and we had to frantically gather everything back up) ;)

In New Zealand there are no indigenous land mammals. There are tons of birds though, and lots of crazy looking ones I've never seen before. There were a lot of ducks at this campsite and they were so tame, like pigeons at home, which was kind of cute and kind of annoying. Everytime we went toward our car to get something out of the trunk they came running over to get ready to jump into the car and search for food. Here's a pic of a pukeke which is a very common bird here.

We've been playing a LOT of bananagrams. This photo was taken right outside the communal kitchen area where we ate all our meals. We were excited to find out that the campsite had a kitchen, but when we got there we realized that you're supposed to bring your own cooking utensils/pots/pans, etc. So we had to improvise again; cooking all our meals in one giant pan/wok they had in the kitchen, and the front desk lent us a knife, fork and spoon.

and here are some of those ducks

Piha beach reminded me a little of Cannon beach, with a big rock called Lion's Rock as Haystack Rock. This is a gorgeous view of the beach from the drive into town (also a great place to watch the sunset).

So after our first night at Piha we went on our first tramp. "Tramping" is the Kiwi word for "hiking" (**sidenote: for Germans "tramping" means "hitchhiking"**). We drove to Karekare beach (where 'the Piano' was filmed) and started our hike from there. Instead of "trails" they call them "tracks" and our tramp consisted of several different short tracks to make one long hike. As soon as we parked the car at the trailhead a torrential downpour started, of course. We sat in the car for a few minutes and it got nice after that. A few minutes into the tramp I was a little annoyed by the mud...

This picture is funny because when I took it I thought I was SO MUDDY and my boot had almost submerged in a mud puddle, but then as time went on I realized this was probably the cleanest/driest my boots were during the whole hike!

It was so slippery and muddy that it took probably 2.5-3 times as long to hike the trail than it would have if it had been dry... so we spent awhile walking carefully and trying to avoid stepping into deep puddles of mud, but about 30 min in we got to river that didn't have a bridge or rocks to walk across it and we realized we'd have to just walk right through.

After crossing the river it was better because our boots were filled with water and mud, and we didn't care how dirty we got after that, and it was easier to hike a little bit faster. All along the tramp I was overwhelmed by the beauty of the place- tropical trees, vivid colors, blue skies, singing birds.

This is how dorky I am now, you guys

After a few hours we approached a beach. This was one of the most breathtaking scenes I've come across yet... Huge rolling hills of bright greens and brown, black sand, and me waiting for a dinosaur to come running out of the hills. It felt like Brian and I were the only people alive in the world. It's hard to believe there's no trace of anyone around you when the place you are in is so beautiful. It felt like it should be swarming with tourists and photographers, but there weren't even any footprints or evidence that anyone had been there (ever, it felt like). Magical.

The tramp was amazing (hehe) but it was strenuous for those of us who haven't been working out or hiking in awhile... so the next day at Piha we just had to relax and rest our muscles.

That evening we went to the bowling club to watch the rugby match. The bowling club is for lawn bowling, but is also a restaurant/bar that hosts all the locals of Piha beach. It was so cute, there was a guest book you had to sign upon entry, and if you're not a member of the club someone else has to sign you in. The President himself came out and chatted us up and signed us in, giving us just another example of that genuine Kiwi friendliness. It never ceases to amaze me.

On our last day we were rejuvenated and spent the day hiking around Piha and Karekare beaches, and here are some photos.

Piha:

Karekare:

This trip was amazing and definitely a highlight of our trip so far. Brian and I also celebrated our 2-year anniversary, yay! :) It was also really fun to camp since I barely did any camping this past summer, and I'm really looking forward to doing a lot more in the next few months.

Driving on the left side of the road

I wanted to title this blog post "driving on the wrong side of the road," but I'm working on not saying that anymore; just because it's the opposite from the way we do things at home doesn't make it the wrong way. But I should call it "Brian driving on the left side of the road," because I haven't done any driving yet and if I had my way, I never would. ;) We got our car!

Here he is, my handsome chauffeur, in front of our handsome car. I own a Subaru, you guys! We got it yesterday and Brian has been driving us all over the city, getting us lost and therefor helping us get our bearings of Auckland. I really am falling in love with this city and it makes me wonder if we might just end up back here to live eventually, although first I think we'll give the rest of the country a chance. Brian is already getting comfortable driving on the left side, and I just silently have a heart attack in the passenger's seat and try to support him as he does a good job. I "intend to practice driving" once we are out of the city...

Today we had a lot of business to attend to, like getting a cell phone, buying a bunch of stuff that we already had at home but didn't want to pack, and applying for a tax ID number that will allow us to work. Running errands gave us plenty more time to experience and gush over the friendliness of strangers in New Zealand. At the post office the workers seemed to have all the time in the world to attend to our every need, flipping through every page in the notebook full of postage stamps she had so I could find just the right ones to send home for a souvenir (to a certain Circa regular). After I picked out 5 different stamps, the post office lady fashioned my receipt into an envelope and tucked the stamps neatly inside, then found a tiny ziplock bag to enclose them in before handing them to me. Why did she do this? Because customer servicepeople here LOVE their jobs!! No, Kiwis are just friendly; they go the extra mile. Small things like that make all the difference. We have multiple experiences like that per day here. I'm getting so spoiled here, I may never come home! :)

A couple of days ago we took a ferry to Devonport, another Auckland "suburb" which reminds me a bit of West Seattle, but with even better views. Maybe throw a little Seaside, OR beachtown-vibe in there as well. Anyway, the ferry ride was less than 10 min and when we docked at Devonport the railing along the boardwalk was covered in knitting of all different colors and patterns. So cute and artsy. We had the sweetest picnic basket with us that our host lent us, and were headed toward the most beautiful, romantic picnic destination I could imagine- Mt. Victoria. It's one of two extinct volcanoes in Devonport and looks like more of a giant hill than anything else. It only took a few minutes to walk up to top and the view was breathtaking. 360 degrees of water fading from turquoise to almost plum, the edge of the city, and all the surrounding mountains/volcanoes. On the top of Mt. Victoria we opened our picnic basket, clinked our plastic goblets together and worked on our sunburns. After lunch, we did a walk around the town as mapped out by Lonely Planet, which took us up another "mountain" (hill) with more spectacular views complete with hang gliders. It was such a nice day and after adequate sunburns we came back to Ponsonby and went to our local pub to watch the All Blacks defeat Argentina. It was a perfect day.

on the ferry, aka West Seattle water taxi

view of Auckland city

on the dock at Devonport

with our charming picnic basket

the greens are so green here...

Getting started in Auckland

We are relaxing in the "sitting room" of Leila's house (our host from airbnb.com) after a nice lunch and another long walk around the city. One of the three cats is sleeping on the couch next to us and the sun is out. All in all, things are really great so far. Brian and I both expected that Auckland would be just another big city we'd want to get in and out of as quickly as possible, but that isn't that case. We are staying in Ponsonby, described as a hip "suburb" of Auckland. I have come to realize that "suburbs" here are not the same as those at home... I think it's actually the Kiwi word for "neighborhood." Ponsonby is wonderful. The main street, which we have walked up and down many, many times in the last 2 1/2 days is chock full of boutiques, gourmet food shops, hip restaurants and bistros and yoga studios. I feel right at home! And after realizing how wrong I was about how I'd feel about Auckland, I have the feeling I am going to fall in love with every single place we go in the next year...

After a long 24 hours of traveling we were greeted so warmly at the Auckland airport! It was almost disturbing how friendly everyone was right away- not something I'm used to at airports in the US. While going through customs, the officer was almost apologetic while asking kindly to look through a few things we had brought. All the things I've heard about Kiwis being friendly have been true so far! We were able to get a shuttle right away which dropped us off at the door of our temporary home, where our host has been accommodating, friendly, and extremely helpful with tips and maps and guidebooks.

On our first day we had a fantastic Indian dinner down the street from our house and then walked downtown and to the North Wharf to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and the pier was all decked out for the Rugby World Cup, which is an obsession in this country. We were just noticing that every single business, storefront and home has at the very least an All Blacks flag hanging up, even the banks! There are billboards and murals all over the city adorned with photos of the beloved rugby team. I was a little nervous that we'd arrive and it would just be absolute mayhem in the city, but despite the subtle buzz of excitement it seems to still be pretty relaxed. Maybe we're just too far away from the stadium to notice it. :)

Yesterday was spent tending to business... which is probably going to be the worst/most stressful part of this year, which is why we'd like to get it all over with in the first week. We are in the process of buying a car from the Backpackers Car Market and should have a Subaru Grand Legacy in our possession by Monday or Tuesday! The car market is nice because the people working there are not pushy like used car salespeople and they have no incentive to push cars on you, because backpackers are the ones who will make the profit off of the car, and they are paying the lot to hold and display their car there. One of the guys working there took us out for a test drive in the Subaru and said that he thought it was the best car on the lot that he'd seen all month and it came back from its mechanical inspection with a nearly clean bill of health (very rare). This is all great news because if we take good care of the car, we should be able to sell it back once we're done with it for the same or close to the same price we are buying it for. Now the issue is trying to get enough money out of the bank to pay for it in a timely fashion without getting ripped off with transaction fees. So far, no luck there. I'll keep you posted. If anyone has experience with a cheap way to wire money overseas... we'd love your advice! :)

One thing Brian and I are trying to work on right now is fighting the urge to get caught up in our "vacation mentality," which is difficult in such a darling neighborhood with many culinary delights to offer... Money is burning up quickly with the purchase of a car, insurance, and cell phones, with no real income in sight. We are thinking of trying to find some temporary work right away, instead of waiting a few months, so that we can replenish some of the immediate funds spent.

I am so happy here! This place is already amazing, and we're just in the big city now... I can't wait to see what the unpopulated areas of New Zealand have to offer. It turns out almost half of the entire country's population lives here in Auckland, which leaves not much to be dispersed around the rest of the islands. I know it sounds so cheesy, but it's true: there are so many new experiences and adventures to be had this year, it's almost mind blowing. I can barely wrap my brain around it. Might have to go take a nap ;)

our home at 6 Ponsonby Terrace

walking around Ponsonby

in an alley off of K Rd, Auckland's former Red Light District

view of the city center from North Wharf

Go The All Blacks

palm trees in the city

skytower reflection

happy to be here :)