We were so lucky to have some wonderful friends come visit us here in New Zealand for the past 10 days! Kurt and Haley made the long trek from Charlotte, NC all the way to Auckland for some relaxation, sightseeing and fun in the sun!They were lucky enough to explore Sydney for a few hours before they landed in NZ around 9pm on Saturday night. That night, they got settled and we caught up and then headed to bed to prepare for the next day.
Sunday morning we got up and were greeted by a school of dolphins jumping and playing in our front 'yard.' Then we headed down to the French Market and got yummy treats & coffees and walked around a bit. Kurt scored some kiwifruit to take on the road--he was a big fan of the gold kiwi (as most folks in NZ are!) Then we parked at PwC and showed them Drew's office before hopping on the ferry over to Waiheke. Unfortunately, the clouds hung around almost all day so the weather wasn't perfect, but it was nice enough. We grabbed our rental car and head to Goldie Vineyard, lunch at Beach Front, then more wine tastings at Peacock Sky, Cable Bay and Mudbrick.
It was such a wonderful day and a great way to kick off their trip! That night, we picked up some Sal's pizzas and had some of our favorite American friends over for dinner to meet our guests from back home.
Monday, Drew had to go to work so I was on tour guide duty. The 3 of us grabbed breakfast at Mission Bay Cafe and then drove out to Karekare Falls and Piha. Kurt enjoyed hiking up Lion's Rock while Haley and I walked around the black sand beach. After grabbing another coffee and and questionable savory muffin, we headed back into town to have a late lunch at Elliott Stables. Then, they packed up and headed out in their rental car up to Manly Beach for a few nights.
Fast forward to Wednesday when I picked up Drew a little early from work and we headed up to Manly to check out their digs and have dinner. The house they were staying in (belonging to the family of a friend) was absolutely stunning and we were all wishing we could just camp out there for a while! After a few glasses of wine overlooking the ocean, we headed to Masala for $10 dinners and they were not disappointed! Then, Drew & I headed back home to get packed up for our next adventure.
Thursday morning, we met Kurt & Haley at the rental car place and hit the road down to Mount Maunganui. We drove through the Karangahake Gorge on our way and they got to see some of the quintessential NZ scenery--sheep farms and windy roads! After getting to the condo (owned by the same family), we walked through the beach town, checking out the stores and having classic fish & chips for lunch. That night we had an amazing dinner at La Barca Italian restaurant and then called it an early night.
The next morning we grabbed breakfast beachside and then headed to Rotorua for the day. We got to check out the Maori thermal village, see the traditional performance, walk through the geysers and hot springs and Drew got a personalized Maori tattoo drawing done. (NOTE: he did not get the actual tattoo, just the drawing of it in case he ever wanted to have it done.) Then we headed into town for lunch at the Fat Dog Cafe before taking our guests Zorbing! Kurt wasn't satisfied with just one run, so he had to go twice. Check them out...
Friday night, we got ready, had a little happy hour at home and then headed to a Mediterranean place called Zeytin right in downtown. AH. MAZ. ING. Holy canoli--that place was so good! Afterwards, we stopped in a bar called Astrolabe and actually enjoyed our ciders in the RV/camper van they had parked in the courtyard. That was definitely a first!
The next morning we woke up to find that part of the family...Jenny & her husband, Grant--who are our age...had arrived and were staying the condo next door (also belonging to the family and connected to our condo by a sliding door.) Once we were all ready and had introduced ourselves, we all headed to breakfast at 88 Cafe. After that, we set out to hike the Mount and even though I admittedly struggled a bit, it was totally worth it. A big thanks to all those people in flip flops, pushing strollers, wearing sweatsuits or jogging up the hill at 3 times my age and making me look bad--definitely helped with the ol' self-esteem. Afterwards, we relaxed on the beach and perhaps got a little too much sun!
Since breakfast was so good, we decided to head back to the same cafe for lunch and it was equally as good. Then we all walked back to the condo to get ready and have some drinks and nibbles before dinner. We certainly saved the best for last because that night we went to the Barrio Brothers Taqueria and it was sooooo good. I always crave good Mexican food and only wish this place was up here in Auckland. Grant was hoping to watch a big fight on TV that night, but it wasn't showing anywhere so we opted for Happy Gilmore on the movie channel instead.
Sunday, we grabbed breakfast, packed up, cleaned and then headed back up north. The drive up to Hot Water Beach was a little rough with all of the curves and hills and crazy speed limits, but we made it eventually. We drove straight to Hot Water Beach, grabbed our shovel and headed down. If you're not sure what this place is, you can read more here, but basically there is a small section of the beach where you can dig a hole and it fills up from underneath with hot water, creating a mini hot tub. The funny part is, if you dig too far in either direction you end up with freezing cold or boiling hot water--definitely a fun challenge.
We stayed there for a little bit before heading to the next beach up to grab a private water taxi that took us over to Cathedral Cove. We got dropped off and had about an hour and a half before the taxi was set to pick us up. We walked up and down the beaches, through the archway and had a nice picnic lunch with all of our leftover snacks from the weekend. One of the coolest parts was that we saw a blue penguin (the smallest species in the world) swimming along beside our boat! Then, we caught the boat back to our car and headed back to Auckland.
2 hours later we were back home just in time to take showers and head down to Sky Tower for dinner at Orbit. I must say...we timed it perfectly because just as we were finishing dinner and making the full revolution around, the sun was setting and it was spectacular. Afterwards, we stopped in the casino where Kurt lost his $10 in one hand of roulette, grabbed some last-minute snacks at Countdown and then had froyo at KiwiYo near our house.
Before we knew it, their last day had arrived and it was time to see the last of the sights and buy some souvenirs. The 3 of us had breakfast at Shore Rd. Cafe (my fave) and then drove up to One Tree Hill. We got to see some great views and Haley finally got to take her picture with sheep! Then, I showed them Mt. Eden before we did some shopping in Parnell. We finished up with a savory pie, a walk through the rose garden and lunch at the fish market. Then, we stopped by to thank the family who let us borrow their houses and got to chat with them for a bit.
To cap off the evening, we picked up Drew from work, drove out to the lookout point in St. Heliers, and had some drinks on our rooftop. We took them to one last dinner at Monsoon Poon and they said it was one of their favorites. Then it was off to the airport :(
We had an amazing time with them and we really do feel lucky that we have friends that would sacrifice the time and money to fly halfway around the world to see us. Ok...I realize that New Zealand is a place they've always wanted to come, but we like to think seeing us was part of their reasoning ;)
Until next time...
Cheers!
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