Return to Auckland : Part 3

Monday 20th March - Friday 24th March 2017

Monday
I had a nice leisurely wake up this morning - I'm making the most of the lie ins before I start my Au Pair job! After a short walk around Albert Park, I decided to go to the art gallery today, as I haven't been yet and it's one of the few free things to do here. I actually really enjoyed it! I really wasn't expecting to but some of the exhibits were really cool, and I did a bit of origami!

After spending about an hour there, I wandered around the shops trying to find a little present for the two boys I will be looking after. I have never had more trouble finding a present for a child in my life! There are no toy shops, unless you count fancy dress shops that have party favours, and the book shops are small so they don't have a good selection to choose from. Nevertheless, I got a few ideas and planned to get something nearer to the end of the week. 

Kristine and Lottie had spoken to Neil about staying at his until they get their Kiwi Experience bus on Thursday morning, so they made us dinner tonight which was awesome! Fidya and Lottie went to the spa, so Kristine and I decided to put on a film to pass the time. 

Tuesday

I decided to spend the morning tidying up a bit and sorting out a few bits so I didn't end up leaving the room until after lunch. I decided to go back up to Newmarket to see if th ebugger warehiuse had anything I could give the two boys and, luckily, I managed to find a couple of superhero colouring books and little cars to give them, so I'm definitely happier now I've sorted that out!

I walked back through Auckland Domain, stopping every now and again to spend about half an hour reading. I got pretty lost, and ended up spending longer than anticipated there! But I managed to find a few cool spots that I didn't see when Emma and I went there's back in February. 

 I decided to go to Zambreros for a burrito for dinner, I absolutely love that place - the food is insanely delicious! I then headed back for another chilled evening, I'm doing my best to save as much money as I can so I'm only letting myself go out once this week!

Wednesday
This morning I walked up to Parnell to meet an old friend from first school, Lauren, at a little Cafe. It was so lovely to see her after over ten years! Afterwards, I had a browse through the shops in Parnell but as I have extremely limited room in my backpack I decided to go to Auckland Domain again to do some more reading and chilling out. I walked back to the hotel for lunch, finishing up my noodles beforehand heading back out in the afternoon to chill out in Myers park again. I have been loving this chilled out life but I'm very excited to get back into working and having a set routine - I'm too restless at the moment!

This evening, Fidya, Kristine, Lotte and I went out for the Couchsurfing drinks and it was kind of mixed emotions for me as this will be the last drinks I'm going to, and it's always sad to leave cool people! It was good fun though!

Thursday

Today I met up with Cameron again and went to see Zhan at the cafe he works at, so basically a repeat of last week! This time I got a snickers milkshake as I hadn't long had breakfast and it was the nicest milkshake I have had for a flipping long time! So happy! I didn't stay out too long as the majority of the day relied on me washing, tidying and packing ready for me to leave tomorrow. I had to go and get my favourite dumplings for the last time!

Friday

My alarm went off at 5:30am this morning and that wasn't the easiest of wake ups! But I got myself sorted, tidied up Neil's lounge, had breakfast (well forced it down) and left ready for my elongated journey to the Holiday Inn by Auckland airport as, typically, there wasn't any direct buses or trains there, so I had to get a train to Onehunga and a bus to Mangere. 

The first aid training was really interesting, not much is different to the last one I did, bar a few minor details. Apparently now it's not being taught as essential to give rescue breaths in CPR,  as the blood should be oxygenated enough beforehand and also through the air,  and compressions are more important as it keeps the blood pumping to the brain, effectively making sure the patient isn't brain dead. Other than that everything was basically the same! We had loads of food given to us as well which was amazing! We also had to have a group photo taken and, despite having loads of photos to choose from, the one on the Facebook page is the worst one of me 😂... I'm on the far right with the disgusted look on my face!

It didn't take long before the orientation was over, and it was time to get on the flight to Christchurch. A few other au pars were flying their as well, so it was nice to have a familiar face to look hang out with for a bit. Mary came and got me from the airport, and we grabbed food before the long drive down to Timaru, my home for the next 5 months. We got there at around 9ish, so it was pretty dark, but she gave me a quick tour round the city and we went to see if there were any penguins down at the beach. I didn't see any, but I heard a few in heir nest which is pretty cool, I'm hoping to go back down there a some point and see them before they migrate

Return to Auckland: Part 2

Thursday 16th March - Sunday 19th March 2017

Thursday
I didn't have much planned today so I met with Cameron and grabbed lunch at Johnny Barrs in Wynard Quarter as Zhan works there. The food was amazing and, as Zhan finished at 4, we hung around for a bit until he finished and grabbed a few beers. I had an interview with a family at 8, so I didn't stay out too long. The interview went really well and the family seem lovely!

Friday
Today I made the most of the nice weather and went for a long walk around Auckland. I spent a bit of time sunbathing in Victoria Park, reading a few books. I then went back to Myers park. Myers park is my favourite park near to the centre of the city, mainly because it's super quiet whenever I've been!

As it was St Patrick's day, we'd planned to go out with some of the others from Couchsurfing. I had a costume ready, but there must've been red wine spilt on the table as when I went to put it on there were wine stains all over it! I still had my bright green socks though so I popped those on to get in the Irish spirit. As I had a few interviews the following morning I didn't drink all that much, but I did make use of the $10 steak deal!

Saturday
As previously mentioned, I had a few interviews planned for this morning, however one of the families has emailed saying they changed their minds about me as they would rather have someone for at least a year. Typically this was the interview scheduled for 9am so there went my lie in! At the moment I'm deciding between two families, one in Timaru with 2 boys and one in rural Canterbury with 3 girls. Both families look so lovely and I know I'll fit in with both of them! So I made sure I had second interviews with them, a few more families requested contact but I decided to stick with the original two as they contacted me straight away!

After the last interview, I went down and grabbed some dumplings before going to chill out at Myers Park again. After finishing a book (Silent Child - would definitely recommend although it was pretty predictable!) I decided to go for a longer walk. I ended up quite lost! But it was cool as I got to explore a bit more of the city that I haven't been to yet, and found quite a few vintage shops that look awesome, only problem being my lack of money and room in my backpack!!

Sunday
A few other girls stayed with us last night, so Neil made us all a fry up this morning which was amazing. He is off to Wellington this week, and very kindly said that Fidya and I could stay here whilst he is away.

I had one more interview this morning, and I ended up accepting the job with them! So after first aid training on Friday I'll be flying to Christchurch and they will then drive me to Timaru so it's exciting times ahead!

This afternoon I had another wander around the city, not really getting up to a whole lot as usual! I chilled out at Silo Park, although I got too hot sitting in the sun!

Alice got into Auckland today, so she came to the hotel and we all went to the rooftop pool and spa which was lovely! It was  so good to see a friendly face, someone you don't have to explain your life story to! It's been so nice being able to just have a relaxing week, and I'm looking forward to my last week as a tourist before settling down in Timaru.

Return to Auckland: Part 1

Sunday 12th March - Wednesday 15th March 2017

Sunday
The flight was slightly delayed as someone got off again in Nadi due to feeling unwell, but that didn't matter as we had an upgraded plane from the way here and had screens which was awesome! I started to watch La La  Land but got pretty bored half an hour in so gave up and watched Life of Pi instead, which I have no regrets about! Sadly, when we got to Auckland it was bittersweet as I was saying goodbye to Emma. I know we'll see each other soon but it's so weird to spend a month and a half seeing the same person every day to just separating from them!

To save a bit of money in Auckland, Lisa (from Contiki) had recommend that I stay with her friend Neil through Couchsurfing. I'd never done Couchsurfing before so I was a bit nervous, but Neil is so kind that I really didn't need to worry about anything! He even offered to pick me up from the airport, which was super nice! He lives in an apartment in the Heritage Hotel, which means I can use the pool and spa pools there which is awesome!

As it was a rainy Sunday, we decided to go to the cinema to watch Logan. Typically, I hadn't seen any of the other Wolverine films so I didn't quite understand everything, but it was pretty spectacular. Neil then showed me a local Asian food market and we grabbed food there - it was so delicious! After eating we just had a chilled night. Neil will be working in the week so I will only really see him in the evenings.

Monday
After a nice leisurely morning, I headed into town to sort a few bits out and grab some food - the bacon bread from my favourite bakery! I had an interview at 1 in Parnell so I grabbed a bus up there as I didn't know how long it would take to walk. I needn't have worried though as it was closer than I thought!

The interview went really well. It was more of a further get to know me and how good of an Au Pair I would be kind of thing but it was great fun and Morgan, the lady I have been talking to about au Pair work, is really lovely and made everything so easy and clear!

That took about an hour, so I continued up to Newmarket to go to the big Warehouse to get a New Zealand phone. I just got a cheap little alcatel phone, thinking it would be easy to use and set up. When I got back to the hotel I went to set it up, and it was telling me I had JavaScript turned off so I couldn't get on the Vodafone page, I couldn't find a single thing on my phone to turn it on so I gave up, deciding to go to Vodafone the following day!

I spent the rest of the day chilling out and reading as the weather wasn't overly great, until Neil came back from work. We went to grab stuff for dinner and rented out Deadpool as I haven't seen it yet and my bro keeps on at me to watch it!

Tuesday
Today was another chill out day (unsurprisingly). There wasn't really anything I needed to get done, so I just watched Call the Midwife for a bit (it's so nice having decent wifi and actually being able to watch Netflix) and then went into town. I grabbed my favourite dumplings (they will never get old) and didn't do a whole lot else all day!

After dinner, Neil and I played the board game 221b Baker Street. It's pretty cool, obviously it's based around Sherlock Holmes and you have a card that tells you about a scenario and then you have to work out a few things. For example, we had to work out the name of the thief, and how he disappears so quickly. Then you go around the bored, going to different buildings and there is a clue in each place you have to look up in a book. It was pretty hard and I didn't get anything right! But hopefully
if I play it again I'll get it!

Wednesday
Today the weather was gorgeous, so I went and chilled out on the rooftop pool, taking it in turns to sunbathe and swim.

After a while I started to get hungry, so went to Wendy's for the classic $5 meal and then I wandered over to a park to read in the sun for a bit.

Every Wednesday, they hold a weekly drinks for people who host and Couchsurf in Auckland, so we went along to that. I met some really cool people that we're hopefully gonna go out with on St Patrick's day which will be awesome!

Auckland - The Big Tiki

Monday 6th February - Tuesday 7th February 2017

 I was a little sad to say goodbye to Paihia this morning, it is truly one of my favourite places! On the way back to Auckland, we stopped off at a 'famous' toilet... although I can't exactly remember why it was famous! (Something to do with the designer I think?)

As we had already explored Auckland last week, we decided to do a few chores, go to the bank, STA Travel and Lush to finish off a few things before we start with everything else. However, this did not happen as the bank was closed due to it being Waitangi Day, and STA Travel couldn't help with my problem so that just left Lush! After grabbing the bits we needed, we asked for a free sample of a face mask and went back to our hotel to treat ourselves!

We were very lucky to land one of the nicest hotel suites - it was more of an apartment than a room! 

For dinner, I was super excited to get dumplings again... the little dumpling cart had swiftly become my favourite place to eat! But our plans were ruined again as it was shut. We ended up going to Zambreros for the most delicious burritos ever.... even if they did give me horrendous indigestion (my eyes are bigger than my belly). 

Katie, Alec, Emma and I then made our way up to the Sky Tower. The views were insane.

As most of the others had gone for a group meal, we decided to meet them in Habana Joe's. Hayley (our tour rep) bought us all a round of shots and initially we were going to wait for everyone to get back to have them. Yet they never showed so we ended up having a few each! It didn't look like they were coming so we called it quits and went back to the hotel... only to get a message from them to go to the 'party room' for pre drinks! So after all that we ended up going back to Habana Joe's! It was a weird but awesome night! 

Coromandel Island and Waiheke Island

Thursday 2nd February - Friday 3rd February 2017

This afternoon Pauline, a girl Lisa met through Facebook, hired a car and we all went to Coromandel island to see Cathedral Cove and the hot water spring beach. It was about a two and a half hour drive and the roads weren't overly busy so we made it there in good time. Once we got there, we stopped off for lunch at a burger van and I had Kumara (sweet potato) fries and they were honestly the most delicious fries I have ever eaten!

Cathedral Cove is about a 35 minute walk from the village, but what we did not realised is how steep and winding the track is. In just under 30 degree heat, the walk was a killer.... but so worth it! We didn't get to stay there long, as we had to get to the other beach for low tide but we did explore the cave and managed to squeeze in a few photos before we left!

After the sweaty hike back to the car, it was about a ten minute drive to get to the hot water beach. This place is famous for the hot volcanic rocks that heat up an underground river up to 60 degrees, and people come to dig there own hot tubs. Honestly, it's one of those things you can only believe when you feel it yourself, but the water gets burning hot a small it trickles out of the sand. It is now my new favourite beach! 

Unfortunately, the weather turned and got pretty cold and rainy so we decided to make a move back to Auckland.

The following day, Emma and I met Sam, a guy on our Contiki tour, and went to Waiheke Island, about half an hour away from Auckland on the ferry. We made our way to the end of the island is thinking we would make our way back to the ferry from there. The weather was still pretty miserable and Waiheke had really been hyped up to us - most of the people we met in the hostels had been there and said it was one of the most beautiful places they had seen. But the beach we went to initially could've been any beach in England!

We then made our way up to the vineyards for some wine tasting, which was pretty awesome, and in the hour we were there the sun came out... finally!

On our way back to the ferry, we stopped off at Palm Beach... and I am so glad we did! It was honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to!

Auckland

Friday 27th January - Wednesday 1st February 2017

The journey from Heathrow to Auckland all seems like a distant memory now, but that was certainly not the case. With the total travel time adding up to over 30 hours and my sleeping time adding up to around 6, this proved to be problematic. I have never felt so rough after a flight, but it was mingled with the occasional burst of adrenaline and excitement - all in all a rather strange feeling! But it was all so worth it. At the moment, our plan is to spend a week in Auckland, 19 days travelling round both the North and South islands, 2 weeks in Fiji and then settling down somewhere, getting a job for around 4 months before heading home... via South East Asia for around 2 months.

Our first few days in Auckland were pretty much spent familiarising ourselves with the city and sleeping! We are constantly drawing similarities between Auckland and GuiYang... not sure if this is due to New Zealand being closer to Asia? We went to a few cool places; Silo Park, Auckland Domain and the sky tower to name a few.

The first hostel we stayed at was called Base Backpackers and we were in an 8 bed dorm on the ninth floor. Luckily we had a relatively quite room, and have met some really interesting people already! Everyone here is so friendly, it reminds me of my first year of uni where everyone is in the same position and looking to meet new people! Thankfully we had breakfast included here, as part of our Job Search New Zealand package, so that made the first few days easier as we just stuffed ourselves full in the morning! I really enjoyed staying at Base, the staff were all super friendly and it was clean and right in the centre of the city. The only super annoying thing were the lifts... they took ages to come and, more often then not, one or more of them was not in use. Adding to this,  for some unknown reason you can only get the stairs all the way down to the ground floor or to the 3rd floor but not to the others? Not sure why!

We happened to be in Auckland for its birthday weekend, so there was loads going on in the city. They had buskers from all over the world, fireworks and a laser show with the Auckland symphony orchestra (they call themselves 'auckestra' which is brilliant) and they opened up the port for free tours and kind of like a mini carnival type thing which was cool! Unfortunately, we managed to get quite burnt on our first day... factor 20 wasn't cutting it! The weather just feels like an English summer so it is easy to forget that the lack of an ozone layer means that the sun affects us more than usual!

After three nights at Base, we then moved on to Frienz hostel... you can't miss it, it's bright pink! This hostel is slightly cheaper as we're in a 14 bed, and we really struggled at first as there's no air con so it's really hot and sticky! But it didn't take long for us to get over it... not that we had a choice! The hostel is honestly one of the cleanest places I've ever stayed at... they clean it at least 3 times a day and the place constantly smells like cleaning products. The staff don't appear as friendly as Base at first, but they are super helpful! On one morning we came back to the room to see that some girls said that one of the guys in the room had weed all over the lockers whilst he was drunk in the night and they were quick to sort that out! We were just grateful it wasn't near us!!

We then had our Job Search orientation on Tuesday, postponed due to the bank holiday! I think I'm probably going to apply for Au Pair jobs... as that's where my experience lies! Although there are a fair few jobs that look interesting! We also signed up to 'wwoofing' which, if you don't know, is basically volunteering on farms and other places on exchange for a place to stay and food! It seems like a really interesting way to see rural New Zealand so excited to try it out!

Wednesday was a particularly interesting day. I started the morning opening my New Zealand bank account, which took way longer than anticipated. We then walked to Mt. Eden and on the way got stopped by some Scientologists for a free screening about the first Dianetics book. I've always been intrigued by Scientology (don't worry mum, not to be one just to learn more!!) so we decided to check it out on the way back. Mt. Eden was a heck of a trek but sooooo worth it. The views are insane! We also bumped into Lisa, who is also doing the Contiki tour, so it was lovely to meet her!

All in all the first few days in New Zealand have been awesome, and I'm very excited for the rest of my time here!