I started thinking of selling her in Wellington, with the thought that I could get an easy relocation rental to Auckland and not have to be stressed while there about trying to sell her fast and also get a fair price.
Hestia! Darling, darling Hestia. She's meant so much freedom for Kara and I, and she has been a very loyal, faithful, and true companion for the year. We definitely put her through her paces on the South Island and though she needed some maintenance, she rose to the task.
I started thinking of selling her in Wellington, with the thought that I could get an easy relocation rental to Auckland and not have to be stressed while there about trying to sell her fast and also get a fair price.
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The drive into Auckland was lovely! Hestia and I had an excellent time together on the coastal roads, enjoying each other's company (and a good audiobook) for our last drive together. It was almost my last New Zealand drive-- I'm saying goodbye for now to windy and narrow roads and driving on the left. Strange, and a little sad!
It really is weird being in Auckland without Kara. I'm not staying at the first hostel we came to a year ago, but I am on the same road, and I spent some time walking up and down Ponsonby while taking care of errands. Memories! If only I had known what wonderful experiences were in store... I would have been even more excited. :p I got a bit melancholy to be leaving, I'm not going to lie. I've taken care of my taxes and made some good headway on other need-to-dos. I've got 5 days in Auckland to finish everything up, but that should leave plenty of time for some fun too! :) My friends, we had our first hiccup. Yesterday we took the car in to AA to get the brake problem looked at, and we asked them to take a peak at the oil leak and squeaky AC belt while there. They said no problem, and off we went to the Auckland Domain and Auckland Museum to enjoy the day while waiting to get a quote for the work. *Kara says: "enjoy" might be an overstatement- we did some nice stuff in between, but we were definitely preoccupied with the potential time and/or money that the repairs might cost us.* One bright spot is that we found the most ADORABLE cafe, called Little & Friday, hidden inside of a fabric store close to the mechanic. We had a quiche and a cinnamon walnut brioche and it was too cute for words. Also, did you know that drip coffee with cream isn't a thing in New Zealand, really? I ordered an Americano since they didn't have drip and asked for a side of cream, and it was pretty shocking to them! Instant coffee is at the hostel so drip coffee must exist, but people seem to go for the espresso drinks. The other highlight is that a bird pooped on my head. More on this later.
I've written all sorts of words about all of the practical things we've been getting done in Auckland, which means now it's time to update on some of the fun things we've been up to. We've been having a great time! *Kara says: We took a nice walk through downtown Auckland, seeing what the city has to offer. One of the last stops was the art museum- Auckland Art Gallery! It had a really fun Olafur Eliasson exhibition that was interactive, and a surprisingly large collection of Goya prints. In my opinion the best part of the museum is the collection of beautiful and realistic portraits of elderly Maori by Charles F Goldie. It was a nice ramble, and one of the most notable things about Auckland are the beautiful parks! There are so many and they are beautiful.* We found an AMAZING park in the middle of the city called Western Park. You think it's just a small grassy area at first, and then you get on the grass and walk to an edge and look down and it's just this vast hill with wild-growing old trees and windy paths. And that's not even Auckland's main park! (It also has some cool sculptures- chunks of buildings that look like they're growing out of the ground- which are not pictured here but can be seen here). We also spend the Monday on Rangitoto Island. We took a ferry out there which offered an amazing view of Auckland.
We've been knocking out our to-do list like no ones business! If you all recall, my earlier post Preparations was all about everything we (and other Working Holiday Visa havers) needed to do to get ourselves here. Now that we're here, we've needed to follow up on a lot of it and get ourselves even more in order.
We've been here a whole day now, which I think completely qualifies us to pronounce our Judgment on Auckland. So: It's great! The city is very beautiful. We're staying about 20 minutes outside of downtown, in the neighborhood of Ponsonby. It's probably analogous to Lincoln Park or maybe Wicker Park- upscale, trendy, lots of fun and lots of money. The hostel is absolutely lovely (though I am definitely finding that hostel life is not for me. A surprise to you all, I'm sure.) You'll never guess the first thing I found!
JUST KIDDING! We are in Auckland and we arrived safe and sound. This is my first blog for us--thanks to Lizzy for making all of our posts so far! Our layover at Venice Beach was actually really relaxing, and both the flights on Virgin and Air New Zealand were smooth, comfortable, and went surprisingly quickly! Major success for flying halfway around the globe. At the very end of our flight into Auckland, the sun caught up with us and we saw the most beautiful morning clouds. Flying over New Zealand was just gorgeous, and after we landed we were greeted with a rainbow! We have arrived at the hostel and are taking it easy today--getting oriented, going for walks, and relaxing (and showering, haha). We will be in Auckland at our hostel for the rest of this week, getting our tax ID numbers, finishing up our bank accounts, and looking for a car. (Also trying to figure out how to drive on the other side of the road.) We'll also start planning the next leg of the journey.
Talk soon! xoxo Kara |
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October 2015
AuthorsLizzy, Kara, and Jordan are spending a year traveling and working in New Zealand. Share our adventures and keep in touch! Categories
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