Last month in Auckland

Having survived our week of car camping, we had another five weeks of term at Olive’s school, staying in a new Airbnb in Mount Albert, before we return to being tourists on the road.

We spent a lot of time adapting the van to be more comfortable including adding in a portaloo and sink so that we could get the holy grail of a blue sticker to show we are self contained and so access loads of free campsites all over NZ. 

We went on a couple of camping trips to Whatipu and Shakespeare Reserve. At Whatipu (pronounced fatty-poo!) we walked to a cave through lots of mud and water and we played for hours on nearby Huia beach. The journey there was quite eventful, it was pouring with rain with mini waterfalls coming into the road and we had to drive through a river!

The harbour at Shakespeare Reserve looked great at sunset. There were some lovely walks with great views and we tried to collect some clams as everyone else was but when we got home they were all just full of sand not clams!

We celebrated Olive’s birthday in the local park, Craigavon, with a few of Olive’s school friends. There was a helium shortage so it was really difficult to get a number six balloon, but we did!

Towards the end of term we had the annual Fundraising Advent fair. There was loads to do and it took lots of organising - we baked cakes and helped out on the day. Olive enjoyed having her face painted, playing a fishing game and potato (not egg!) and spoon game, eating in a kids cafe and sitting in a fire engine. 

We also went to Auckland museum to do a volcano simulator and see some dinosaurs. 

We climbed up the One Tree Hill volcano to see the amazing views right out to other volcanoes and looked into the Wintergarten glass house and fern garden.

There are so many beaches around Auckland which we happily drop by whenever we have a spare moment - French Bay, Titirangi, Cornwallis, Blockhouse Bay, Armour Bay, Kare Kare and Piha to name but a few.

The run up to Christmas is very strange here. I think folk are just not that interested as it is also their long summer holidays so thoughts are more on extended time off and wider holidays. There are not many decorations around and it is hot and rainy(!), but you can still visit Santa at craft fairs and in the shopping malls and there is a street called Franklin Road where everyone has gone to a lot of effort to decorate up!

Now we leave Auckland and start car camping our way round New Zealand….

Homeless week

We had a six night stretch between our Auckland Airbnbs which we used as a target to get the van set up for sleeping in. We added storage, MDF boarding, mattresses, stove, cooking stuff, curtains and a portaloo. All too much for some of us!

Then we were all set to live in the van for a few nights. We spent the first few school nights staying in nearby bays and having dinner in local places - taco Tuesday and the local Indian were the highlights. Then we headed off to the beautiful beaches of Kare Kare and Piha for Friday night. The sand on the west coast is black due to the volcanic history. Fine at this time of year, but apparently too hot to walk on in the height of summer!

Then we went across to the Coromandel Peninsula to the right of Auckland. First stop Miranda where we enjoyed the hot spring literally in the campsite and the nearby bird watching. There were a lot of birds - Godwits, Oyster Catchers, Spoonbills and Herons. The Godwits had come all the way from Alaska. 

We drove up the peninsula through beautiful quiet bays on a winding road and stayed up near Coromandel Town. Boo and Olive loved playing in the mud too much - what a mess! 

For our final day we went into a great, if slightly crazy place called The Waterworks. It was full of different things to do with water, reusing lots of old things like bits of metal and plastic and toilets. We had a happy time spraying each other with water and making all the different displays do things like playing music and moving water around to hit targets. Selina enjoyed the zip wire and Olive enjoyed the hamster wheel in the play park bit. 

The van was a mess by the end!

Auckland City

We’ve completed our first month in Auckland NZ. It took two whole days to get here. You know it’s far when you get off your second flight that took 10 hours and then get onto another flight for 15 hours! Although we did give ourselves extra time in Houston airport to have Burgers and shake in Rubys Diner. 

Olive has settled into her school in Titirangi - a suburb right next to a massive nature reserve. It really doesn’t feel like a city where we are living! It feels more like the jungle with sprawling sections of tropical trees. Olive’s school is set in massive grounds. Once a week she gets to go to Bush Kindy where she spends all day outside and goes on treks. This is the view from our apartment:

It’s actually been a bit chilly at night for the first few weeks. It gets really hot in the sunshine in the day, but - with no central heating - a bit nippy at night. Although it has been warming up loads in the last week. Summer is coming. 

We have bought a Toyota Hiace from Bay of Plenty which was a 300 mile round trip that we did twice in a few days to view it then pick it up. We have been kitting it out for camping - adding a comfy bed, storage and - essentially - a reversing camera! The plan is to take it round the two islands at the end of term. 

Both Olive And Boo have tried out all sorts and signed up for classes. Olive has done some yoga, piano lessons, a Lego club and swimming classes. Boo has different playgroups, free rhymetime in the library and swimming classes to keep him busy. 

It feels a bit like being back in Oaxaca with us living again in one place. It’s nice. We have done some touristy stuff as well. We looked round the Central Business District, our local art gallery, the amazing views in our nearby reserve and we’ve checked out the plethora of beaches. They are everywhere which isn’t surprising if you look at a map of New Zealand. Cornwallis on the West Coast with volcanic black sand and Point Chevallier in town are our faves so far. 

We also met up with Selina’s cousin Ras’ family up in North Shore. So welcoming and amazing tacos.