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North Island

I got seated in a window seat next to a larger woman in the middle with her friend or best friend or sister (i couldn't tell) but they were from NZ or AU because they had that accent. It was the first time I heard the accent and it made me happy. I was really dreading this flight and it didn't help that the lady's arm was getting somewhat in the way as every time I tried to sleep, I could feel her arm move if she moved and it woke me up. Therefore, I didn't get much sleep. I watched Aladdin, the new Disney move that came out and I actually really enjoyed it. In all, I probably got like 3 hours of solid sleep with 2 hours or so of napping. It wasn't great but I didn't feel sick, just very uncomfortable. I arrived really early at 5am and leaving the AU airport was very strict, they checked to see if I had any food (which I did, some crackers and chocolate), but they didn't do anything. I searched for the Uber right away and was at my hostel by 6am (i knew I would arrive early when the Airbnb lady thought I would be there at 7am but told me to just knock on the door). So I waited 5 minutes admiring the cute little cottage with beautiful colored flowers out front and a really pretty view of Auckland downtown. I knocked several times and no one came so I got a bit worried and then waited a few minutes and knocked again louder. A man came to the door in his PJs and a New Orleans T-shirt so I could tell her was American by his accent. He welcomed me in and told me my room was surprisingly ready since the people before left early so he showed me to my room. I was so relieved as I was exhausted and needed a bed. The room was situated in the middle floor, with a very small little living room area and all wooden floors. Their room was on the same floor and then down the stairs was the kitchen, living room, laundry room. Rick showed me where everything was in the kitchen and told me everything I needed to know and then we got to talking about where they were from and how they started Airbnb in New Orleans and have been doing it for like 20 years (they had a cute schedule on their kitchen wall chalkboard that was neat). He was very talkative for it being 6am, told me he works from home as an architect and his wife sells his brother's dried fruit business at grocery stores every afternoon. I knew he was doing some sort of yoga or pilates before I arrived since there was a mat in the living room when we walked by and I told him I should probably get rest and he said he was going to get back to his pilates.

I unpacked and then took a nap, set my alarm for mid-afternoon as I needed to get used to the time change. I woke up and walked to this coffee shop down the main street (Ponsonby) that my mom's friends had told me about. It was so fancy!!! This street had tons of restaurants, shops, furniture stores, etc. and it felt like I was in a whole other world. The air was crisp and the sun was bright and shiny with forest trees and nice cars, and white (pale) white people walking around everywhere. So different than what I was used to being in South America for 3 months.

The coffee shop was so cute and I loved being in there, ordered a turmeric latte and a smoothie bowl along with a gluten free pastry dessert thing - basically all healthy stuff. It was warming and I stayed there to plan the rest of my trip in NZ as I hadn't really done much planning lately. The young boy in there was really nice and helped me plan some things on where I was going to drive in the South Island since he was from there and at Univeristy at the moment—my first Kiwi friend! Then I decided to walk around a bit more and ended up at the waterfront area that my mom's friend had told me about along with Rick and I ordered a beer, my first NZ beer - it was okay. Then I walked past the park and watched young boys and girls skating at this skate park next to guys practicing Rugby and other people running or playing basketball. A very lively scene, I guess also because it was a Friday. I wasn't sure what to do for dinner so I just went to this restaurant my friend Kasey from college had recommended in her blog when she traveled to Auckland. I stopped at the Airbnb since it was basically on the way and ran into Elizabeth (the lady I had been communicating with through Airbnb). Famous for their meatballs, I ordered a glass of wine and checked off the menu what I wanted (it was like a checklist menu which was neat and different). Elizabeth was so sweet, with grey hair and round glasses, she was very friendly and welcomed me as my mom would with her guests. The restaurant was this chic place with lively young people and it got more and more crowded as I sat at the bar so ended up getting a small table so I could chill and not get overwhelmed as I was still very tired and people were starting to get rowdy (which is expected for a Friday evening). It was dark by the time I left, and I got to the Airbnb and realized I had left the key on the dresser. I freaked out for a little because the lights were off and I could tell no one was home (I knocked and no one came to the door). I walked around to see if there was a back entrance or another way I could get in but there was no luck whatsoever. I actually saw some dude lying on a couch or bed in the room behind the house and that kind of shocked me but I noticed there was some wifi so I messaged Elizabeth through the Airbnb messaging and my battery was at 5% so I was thinking of what I could do if she didn't respond as I knew they were probably out on a Friday night and wouldn't be back till late. I waited about 10-20 minutes and then decided to look at the instructions the Airbnb had and THANK GOD there was a spare key on the side of the door. I was in luck!!! It was just on time because my battery was about to die for real and it was like a savior came to save me. I got in and showered and went to bed, so exhausted. I apologized to Elizabeth for bothering her and all the messages and she understood and also apologized as they were out and weren't looking at their phones (Rick played piano Friday nights at this bar).I slept in pretty late actually, making breakfast around 10am and Ready was up and chatted with me. I decided to walk around Auckland downtown and go up the Sky Tower, which was overwhelming at first. I walked into the hotel and didn't see any signs so I went up obviously thinking the way up was the right way but soon realized after asking this waitress that it was down. So I went to the right spot and up the Sky Tower that costed $32 NZ which was frustrating but whatever-it was worth it. The view was really cool and I got a sandwich and coffee and chilled up there for a bit and then walked around downtown to this other park and was going to go to the Art Gallery but that also costed money, went to get my SIM card, and then went to this ice cream shop that my high school friend Meg told me to go to which was really cool, had many different shapes of ice creams from the Sky Tower replica to the Self Stick replica, etc. It was very touristy and lots of people out and about (so happy I got an Airbnb as I needed some space and real home comfort). When it was starting to become dark, I decided to go for a run. It felt so nice to actually run and be free and sweat. I was tired and didn't feel like going to a restaurant (and someone in the kitchen was cooking something Asian and all the spices smelled so good so I decided to order Thai food). When I went to get tea (Rick and Elizabeth were out), there was a random guy in the kitchen cooking. I started talking to him and he told me he lived downstairs with his girlfriend (they were originally staying in the Airbnb room and asked Elizabeth and Rick if they could stay in the other room). They were doing a work exchange (on a working visa in NZ) for a few months and he was really nice and easy to talk to. I had another good night sleep and then woke up in time to go to Devenport. I got there just in time for the next ferry and then hiked up to Mount Victoria -this really cool mountain in the middle of the penninsula with the most amazing view of the water and Auckland downtown. There were tons of boats and people out and about walking. I decided to stop at this place that had a sign saying Organic Wine week and got a glass of wine (the bartender let me try the various types and I got white). The sun was shining and I was very satisfied with my day so far and it was only 2pm. I went back to Auckland to take a Zoomy (the NZ form of Uber) to Mission Bay and there was so much traffic and many many people at the beach. I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of tourists from Indians to Asians to randoms and locals. I tried going to this restaurant I had looked up that had the best fish and chips but it was closed so I went to the second one and their service sucked and didn't have WIFI so I went to the third choice and so glad I did. I had a great view of the beach and enjoyed the fish and chips they offered. I was ready to go back, after feeling the cold water and went to this Kombucha place that Kasey also recommended. It was going to close in 30 minutes, there was no one there, but I went to the bar and got the sample to try all of them (the bartender was this younger guy who seemed to be training because he had to ask the owner some of the questions I was asking him). The owner came over and started chatting (he's from Seattle and came here on a sailboat 5 or so years ago) and then started this company. Saying that Kombucha is new thing in NZ and not big at all, and it's only been open for about 2 years? It was already 8pm before I knew it and I ordered my favorite (the Green one) and then walked to this park near Central. I stopped in this Asian restaurant that had Pho and ordered that and a fancy drink. Afterwards I felt sick to my stomach, I had definitely eaten way too much that day, something was wrong. I felt so gross and overwhelmed. I had to lay down, it was bad. After a little while I decided to take a bath and that made me feel much better. I woke up on time again to take a ferry to an island for wine tasting, and that morning the German guy was in the kitchen and we chatted about concerts and music for a while but I told him I needed to go to make the ferry to Weiheke Island. The ferry ride was so beautiful, we passed by at least 2 old volcanos and tons of sail boats. The water was bright blue/green and it was a little cold but not too bad. When we arrived, I asked the easiest way to get to Mudbrick Vinyard - the lady was somewhat helpful. I found a trail that was super cool, it was the "bird seeing" trail and I did see a lot of birds and then stumbled upon vineyards and then tons of sheep when reaching the top. It was a stunning view, I loved hiking these trails I found and then went to this other trail that had a view of the other side of the island. It was so much fun and a very romantic type place. I arrived to the vineyard and there were couples and families and I went straight to the tasting room. The guy was a cool nice guy who gave me the tasting and told me to relax outside, So I sat outside and admired the view and then decided to order a bottle but the price to open it up there was $20 more so I said I would take it (even though I didn't and went to the other restaurant to ask for a glass) hehe. Then ordered the famous lamb and it was the most delicious meal ever. I can't explain how or why but the texture and sauce it had on it was so tasteful. There was an American couple that just got engaged that started talking to me and we chatted for a bit and she told me one of her clients was Cvent (a company I used to work for) - small world. Then I walked back to the ferry at sunset and it was dark by the time I got back to Auckland but walked back anyway as I felt very safe in this city. I was checking out that evening (Elizabeth was nice enough to let me keep my stuff there until 8pm as the next guests weren't showing up until 10pm). I said my goodbyes to the sweetest Airbnb couple (not tot mention them letting me do two loads of laundry for free with their detergent) and ordered a Zoomy to my next Airbnb which was more downtown. It was in this apartment building and I had to get a keycode to get the key out down the street and then walked in and the young Asian lady was on the phone. It was a cute little Asian themed room and I was tired so I just had some tea and went to bed. I woke up early the next morning to get my rental car from Jucy and it worked out smoothly as I was on my way to this yoga class I had signed up for (another friend recommended I go to this studio and take a specific instructor's class). So I signed up and had to be there at a specific time. Of course it was raining this day, the day I had to drive on the left side (driver on the right) for the very first time, and hadn't driven in months. I got to the class early and chatted with the instructor and it was a really nice combination between bikhram and vinyasa. I really enjoyed taking a class for the first time in so long!! I showered and then headed to the west coast, this beach called Piha. The driving wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, just had to keep my mind set on "keep left" the entire time and go slow and super careful. It was cloudy and very windy but not too bad, I had gotten there just in time as it started to rain after walking around for an hour and admiring the rocks along the beach.There was this one rock shaped like a lion laying down which was neat and the beach also famous for surfing but the winds were too rough and obviously not surfing weather so no one was on the beach. I was going to go tot this coffee shop but it was closed and my data wasn't working so I went into this grocery store place and ordered a pizza thing and the lady told me to try turning off and on my phone as the data should be working. I did that and it worked. I ate and then left for the next Airnbn which Im glad I did since it was raining and gross and I just wanted to chill. The lady, Alison greeted me with the 3 doodle dogs! They were the cutest dogs and so fun and cute and it made me super super happy. She was a stay at home dog lady and made dog beds and was a sales rep for a soap company. Reminded me a little of my mom as she was the same with Bacci and also works at home somewhat teaching Pilates. She showed me to my room which was this gorgeous high ceiling, carpet floor room with a modern touch. She was very talkative to I decided to sit down on the couch and snuggle with her doodles and have some tea with her. It was such a lovely rainy afternoon, I loved it. She got to working again and talking on the phone with one of her best friends (reminded me of my Aunt Carol for some reason the way they were chatting) as I started booking my flights in Asia. Then I thought her husband was home (it was about 3:30pm at this point) but it was one of her guy friends. He was this larger, tall Irish guy with a very outgoing personality and they sat right around me chatting away and "catching up" as girls normally do. It was one of the cutest bonds I had seen and later found out that they used to work at booths next to each other at the market back in the day (he still does). They seemed so close and so good to each other - just friends chatting away on a Monday or Tuesday afternoon because they had nothing better to do (he also brought over a lovely pastry for the two of them). So cool. Then the husband shows up a couple hours later after he leaves and he's a nice fellow as well. I went to get Mexican food close by and then went to bed at a decent hour as I was off to Hobbiton the next day.

I slept in later than expected and had a nice breakfast with Alison and then hit the road. It was rainy again so I wasn't sure if I should stop at the Botanical gardens but decided to and kinda glad I did. It was nice walking around the park for a bit as I was in the car for a good amount that day. I arrived to Hobbiton and it was raining but I decided to bite the bullet and buy the expensive ticket to see this famous lord of the rings movie set scene. It was pretty damn COOL. I'm so glad I did!! We did get poured on in the middle of it but it ended up being okay, I changed before the next drive to Rotoroa. I parked the car and went to get dinner after checking into the this backpackers hostel. The Indian restaurant was a little strange as the men kept starring at me as if they hadn't seen a white girl in a while. Anyway, I got back to my room and there was a quiet Asian girl in there that didn't say anything and I got ready for bed. Then this other girl came in and she was talkative and sleeping in the bed right next to me. We got to talking and she's from Germany and just finished Univeristy talking a couple months before starting a job. I mentioned my plans for the next day and she decided to tag along. We got McDonalds for breakfast and hit the road to the Thermals. It was a cool walk around the different colored thermals and then we went to this other park that was also a lovely hike with thermals and an oasis and a lake with tons of birds. It was very much a nature filled day as we then went to walk around these redwood trees. I had to be back in time for this Maori culture dinner that I had previously booked. I showed up and waited for it to start and all these people showed up. It was a very very touristy event and I'm glad I did it but also didn't need to do it as it was very expensive. I was also freezing cold as it was outside and I didn't know that was going to be the case. There were tons of families and couples and I ended up sitting by myself and then started talking to this family from Australia (girl was about 21) and this mom and her son). They gave me recommendations on where to go and then thankfully it was time to go. I got back and found a new girl in the bed the Asian girl was in and turns out she's from SF. We chatted for like 30 minutes and she's a landscape film maker and has been living in NYC for the past 8 years but might be moving to NZ. Then I chatted with Tanja for a while and then went to bed. We got breakfast in the morning and I was off to Lake Taupo. It was a nice drive, very windy and a ton of cattle. I decided to stop at this honey farm and get a free honey tasting and the guy let me try the mead (honey and liquor) - it tasted like wine! Then I went to the spa park to this natural hot spring and it soooo nice. At first it started raining but then it stopped and thankfully there weren't that many people there. I found a nice quiet spot and FINALLY got to relax in NATURAL hot springs. I was extremely happy since I hadn't been able to do this in my life…every time I went tot a so-called natural hot spring, it was a man-made one. Then a whole group of people arrived so I decided I had been there long enough and left to go to McDonalds as I was hungry and it was supposed to be the coolest McDonalds in the world. It actually was because it was an actual airplane and you could eat in it! Then I checked into my hostel and walked around the lake and then decided to actually go on a run again. I made pasta since there was a kitchen and then showered and met my roommate. She was this 23 year old from Australia and she gave me some really good recs for Asia and Australia as well. We both were on our laptops and went to bed. I got up to drive to this glow worm cave and waterfall and then back tot Auckland as I had an early flight the following day to the South Island, Queenstown. The drive was again, very windy and it was a little rainy but not bad. I arrived to the caves just on time and it was OK, it was pretty cool to see the glow worms under the caves on a boat but again, very touristy. I then decided to drive an extra 30 minutes as I looked up this waterfall that was supposedly one of the most beautiful waterfalls in NZ and it was! I'm so glad I drove the extra way. But then it was getting dark and I headed back to Auckland and dropped off my rental and then walked to the Jucy Auckland hostel. I got a private and it was s*** but it was fine. I showered and organized and then ordered an uber to the airport the next morning and I was ready to go to Queenstown!