Exploring Auckland with a True Kiwi - 21 December 2007

(Written by my wife, Hayley)
Yesterday and today were wonderful days! Yesterday we met up with our friend Graeme, who showed us around the beautiful city of Auckland. He first drove us to the summit of Mt. Eden, a dormant volcano with a pretty view of the city. Next, we stopped at Lake Ponderosa. This was also famously known as Lake “Zena” because much of the show was filmed here. Next, we dropped by Graeme’s house to pick up his wife Nisa and say hello to his two adorable kids, Kaitlin and Hunter. (Ironic fact: Hunter was born at the same time that an F0 tornado hit a nearby city – a very rare occurrence in NZ!). While the kids stayed with their grandparents, the four of us headed off to the Matua Winery. New Zealand is famous for many things, including great wine. Bobby and I really aren’t wine drinkers at all, but we’re up for trying anything (the legal drinking age here is 18). Bobby and I sampled five different white wines, and as the saying goes, I still haven’t found a wine I like. It was still fun though!
Next we went to lunch at a café called ‘Bee Online’. It was one of those wonderful, hideaway restaurants that only the locals know and frequent. I had some delectable grilled chicken mini bagels with roasted tomatoes. (Andria, you would love it here. Just about every meal comes with a roasted tomato!) We also got to sample the honey, made right there onsite, which was very yummy. Bobby was feeling adventurous, so he actually tried an ostrich filet! It was pretty good, it tastes a lot like steak. Dessert was also fantastic. I had a strawberry, white chocolate moose triffle, while Bobby had a dark chocolate brulee’ with black current sauce.
After lunch, on the way to our next stop, we pulled in to a local farmers market that was one of Graeme and Nisa’s favorites. We bought some delicious fresh strawberries that had been picked that morning! Next we went to the Waitakere Ranges, a gorgeous rainforest located about a half hour’s drive from the city of Auckland – how many other cities can boast that? The view was just spectacular. It’s easy to tell that this country was formed by volcanoes because all the vegetation is so lush and green (since it formed from very rich, volcanic soil).
Next we went to Piha Beach, a lesser known beach with lots of rocks and not so many people – our kind of beach. Best of all was the black sand! It’s full of iron, which gives it the black color, and is very cool and unusual! After this we dropped off Nisa back at the house and Graeme started to bring us back to our hotel. Our last stop, however, was what Graeme said made us “True Auklanders”. We went to Mission Bay (about 20 minutes from our hotel) and had fish and chips from the Fish Pot Café. This was another place famous to the locals for their delicious fish and chips made with fresh snapper. They wrapped up each of our meals for us in newspaper and we enjoyed them down by the seawall. The weather was great, the winds light, and we just got to sit and watch the boats sail by. It was a great ending to a wonderful day with our friend and gracious tour guide. We agreed to give Graeme a call when we fly back to Auckland at the end of our trip.
He dropped us off back at our hotel where we decided we would call it an early night. First, though, we had to explore the Borders right across the street from our hotel. Bobby picked up a couple books about cricket and rugby, as well as a book about Lord of the Rings and how the filming took place here in NZ. I bought a beautiful picture book with lots of scenic landscape shots from all over the country.
I think that just about covers it all from yesterday. Sorry for being a day behind, but when everything is closed on Christmas we can get caught up. I hope you’re all enjoying hearing about our travels! We absolutely love it here so far, and we know we want to come back in the future at some point.
Love, Hayley and Bobby