I can’t believe its already been two weeks since David and I left Montreal for Auckland, New Zealand.  I’ve been meaning to write this post for over a week but time just flies when having fun. We’ve been staying with my wonderful cousin Sarah, her husband Richard and their son Ryan. They’ve been such wonderful hosts that we ended up spending over ten days with them instead of our initial plan of 3 days. I didn’t realize how much there is to do in Auckland, let alone New Zealand before arriving here. Exploring Auckland with them as locals has been a real treat and part of the reason we haven’t had a chance to write any posts.

 

Enjoying my first New Zealand Kiwi

Assimilating to our new surroundings -AUCKLAND

Having lived a good chunk of my life in Canada, I thought I was ready for New Zealand’s winter. A 15 degree winter, I thought to myself is practically Montreal in the summer. With that thought, I packed a few fall sweaters and thankfully my loyal Patagonia sweater and jacket which at the time I thought I was over packing. Boy am I glad I overpacked! Let me tell you through first hand experience that the 15 degrees is a lie! With Auckland’s 90% humidity and 60kms winds, it feels more like 2 degrees. To make things worse, the houses here are not insulated the same way as Canada. Thankfully my cousin’s home is equipped with portable heaters, if not I might as well have turned into an ice cube. We had grand plans to explore the South Island on this trip however recognizing that it gets colder the more south we go, we’ve changed our plans. More on that soon.

Can you tell I’m freezing?

I don’t think I can ever get used to cold weather, I suppose at the core, I’ll  always be an Indian 😀

After coming to terms with this new reality along with a sun setting at 5:30 pm ( something I did not think about when planning a winter trip to New Zealand) we slowly started to assimilate to our surroundings.

When I was researching New Zealand, there wasn’t much said about Auckland.  Other than there’s a lot more outside of Auckland to explore and not to waste time here. Thus far I can only speak about Auckland and my two cents are that its a versatile city that offers a little bit of everything which is something I liked. For example, if you are an outdoor type of person, there are hiking trails everywhere. There is also tons of activities to do barely 30 minutes drive away from the main city centre. There’s also a decent strip of retail therapy if needed. I enjoyed walking up down Queen street. But let me warn you, shopping in Auckland is not cheap. While here we explored Mount Eden, Sky Tower, Cornwall Park, One tree hill and much more. My most memorable visit was to Kumeu, where we spent a few hours at the Tree Climbing adventure.

As for food, we mainly ate home cooked meals given the ridiculous meal prices.

Delicious home made lamb roast and veggies, compliments to chef David ❤️.

An average plate costs 25$ so for two people you are starting with a 50$ bill, not including drinks and appetizers. If you have a crappy meal, knowing you just paid close to 100$ for it, can sting a little.

We treated ourselves once to a nice lunch out at Tony’s Bar and Restaurant on Victoria Street and we were super stoked with their lunch special. We had a beef burger and fries, and fish and chips, along with 2 drinks and a calamari appetizer all which cost us 47$ thanks to their 10$ lunch special! Whoop!! Whoop!! 😀

I defintitely don’t think we needed spend ten days in Auckland however there is something special about spending time with loved ones. It was so lovely to stay with my cousin and just chat over tea and biscuits. I don’t think I would have stayed this long if I wasn’t staying with family. There is also something special about having a year to travel because it enables us to pause and not rush through an itinerary.

Time to move on..

After spending all that luxurious time in Auckland, it’s time to keep moving. We are currently on our way to Matamata – for a tour of Hobbitown. From there our bus heads to Rotorua where we will spend 4 nights. From there to Taupo and then Wellington..

So stay tuned.. As there’s much more to come!! 🙂

This is only just the beginning..