New Zealand is a great country! Friendly people, spectacular scenery, laidback attitude…and most things are just easier here than in other countries. Take for example, acquiring a car. And not only are you not in the country, but you’re homeless, with no fixed address, while you’re trying to acquire the car.
In most countries we’ve lived in, this would be a problem. Maybe even impossible. But in New Zealand, good things happen and Brian was able to arrange everything online! The manager of the car dealership came and met us at the airport with our new (used) car (45 minutes from the dealership, ON a Saturday), then drove us back to the lot where it took about 10 minutes to fill in the paperwork, and we were driving away in our licensed, registered, insured car! Woohoo!
After a short night in Auckland we made a beeline towards Bay of Islands to see our new house in progress. It’s looking good, with an optimistic goal of March 14th as the finish date.
With work on building the house going well, we turned our attention to the host of other decisions that need to be made: all the appliances, the tile, carpet, wood flooring, countertops, lights, kitchen cabinet colors and handles…it just goes on and on and on……
After a week of shopping and comparing prices, we left the Bay of Islands several thousand dollars poorer, but in good spirits. Heading south into new territory, we visited some family friends in Mananui, near Lake Taupo in central North Island. Heather and Billy took us to a lavender farm, to see glow worms at night, hiking in the Tongariri National Park and finally to an authentic NZ ‘bach’ – a simple lake house - on Lake Taupo.
On our last day at the bach, Brian and I were joined by Billy’s friend Dylan, for an afternoon of sailing on the Barbary. Originally built as a racing yacht in California, the Barbary was owned for a time by Errol Flynn, then raced again and finally ended up on huge Lake Taupo in New Zealand.
Lake Taupo is a crater lake, large enough that Singapore would fit inside. The water in the lake is so clear, that a river coming out of it is the most incredible shades of turquoise blue we’ve ever seen! A special place for the Maori, a few years ago, some Maori artists created these beautiful rock carvings along the shoreline as a gift to the people who live around the lake. The carvings depict the ancestral Maori king and various mythological creatures.
This week it’s back to the Bay of Islands…checking on house progress and finalizing kitchen cabinets and the wood flooring…starting to look at blinds…sigh.
Next week I think we’re going to take a break and explore the very northern tip of NZ – 90 mile Beach and Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. There is also sand dune surfing, car camping and ancient Kauri tree forests along the way….
So the adventures continue! Stay tuned for the next installment.
In most countries we’ve lived in, this would be a problem. Maybe even impossible. But in New Zealand, good things happen and Brian was able to arrange everything online! The manager of the car dealership came and met us at the airport with our new (used) car (45 minutes from the dealership, ON a Saturday), then drove us back to the lot where it took about 10 minutes to fill in the paperwork, and we were driving away in our licensed, registered, insured car! Woohoo!
After a short night in Auckland we made a beeline towards Bay of Islands to see our new house in progress. It’s looking good, with an optimistic goal of March 14th as the finish date.
With work on building the house going well, we turned our attention to the host of other decisions that need to be made: all the appliances, the tile, carpet, wood flooring, countertops, lights, kitchen cabinet colors and handles…it just goes on and on and on……
After a week of shopping and comparing prices, we left the Bay of Islands several thousand dollars poorer, but in good spirits. Heading south into new territory, we visited some family friends in Mananui, near Lake Taupo in central North Island. Heather and Billy took us to a lavender farm, to see glow worms at night, hiking in the Tongariri National Park and finally to an authentic NZ ‘bach’ – a simple lake house - on Lake Taupo.
On our last day at the bach, Brian and I were joined by Billy’s friend Dylan, for an afternoon of sailing on the Barbary. Originally built as a racing yacht in California, the Barbary was owned for a time by Errol Flynn, then raced again and finally ended up on huge Lake Taupo in New Zealand.
Lake Taupo is a crater lake, large enough that Singapore would fit inside. The water in the lake is so clear, that a river coming out of it is the most incredible shades of turquoise blue we’ve ever seen! A special place for the Maori, a few years ago, some Maori artists created these beautiful rock carvings along the shoreline as a gift to the people who live around the lake. The carvings depict the ancestral Maori king and various mythological creatures.
This week it’s back to the Bay of Islands…checking on house progress and finalizing kitchen cabinets and the wood flooring…starting to look at blinds…sigh.
Next week I think we’re going to take a break and explore the very northern tip of NZ – 90 mile Beach and Cape Reinga, where the Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea meet. There is also sand dune surfing, car camping and ancient Kauri tree forests along the way….
So the adventures continue! Stay tuned for the next installment.
1 comment:
Hi Dawn! When's the marriage? Or are you married already? I wasn't sure whether you said it was April or May(it'll be really embarassing if it's neither..). Congratulations!
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