our first week!

Dear readers,

Welcome back! I hope you are all doing well, wherever you are in the world. We have a lot to catch you up on from our first week in New Zealand so let's get into it!

Remember that job we told you about in our previous blog post? We decided not to go forward with it. That meant that we went into New Zealand jobless and a little bit more stressed. Why would we be stupid enough to turn down that job opportunity for, you might ask? The answer is pretty simple - we want to be flexible and travel as much as we possibly can. And that job simply wouldn’t have allowed us to since it would have been very time consuming. We would have been required to work six days a week and for at least four months! The four month requirement was fine with us as we could travel around the Wellington area for whatever days we were off but six days a week just does not fit with a backpacking-esque style of travel! So, with no job offer, it was back to the drawing board.

After a long (looooooong) overnight flight from Dallas to Auckland, we arrived here early on Thursday morning. By that afternoon, we owned a car! Like I said in our previous blog post, Facebook marketplace is a gem and people work quickly on there. Within hours of landing in New Zealand, we became the proud owners of a 2004 Honda Mobilio, who we have affectionately named Hector (referencing the incredible Taika Waititi movie ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’). It was a fast purchase but it was a necessary one. With the use of the car, we have been able to begin to pick things up for our travels, explore new neighbourhoods of Auckland, and venture further afield. It has truly been a game-changer! Because we got a car so quickly we can't really say much about public transport but it looks very reliable and clean!

In order to try and forget about some of that job-related stress, we’ve spent a lot of time exploring. I have truly been in awe of just how beautiful this country is. Everywhere is so green, with plants and trees everywhere. We’ve driven out of the city a few times and it really does not take long until you are surrounded by beautiful green hills and forests, but even in Auckland, there are some really amazing spots! It's really nice that not too far out from the city you can be completely immersed in green. I don't know how accessible going to some of these spots are if you don't have a car but with a little research it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what places are easy to get to on the bus, train, or by walking.

The first place we headed to in Hector the Honda was the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. It only took us about 45 minutes to get here but the roads were incredibly windy. If you are someone who experiences motion sickness, I would make sure you come prepared with some medication because the roads are crazy here! Around each bend on the road, it somehow became more and more beautiful. And once we arrived at the park, it was better than I ever could have expected. We parked up at the visitor’s centre and there was a little viewpoint with a frame and everything!

It was an incredible view - somehow it was exactly how I was expecting New Zealand to be but also somehow even more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. If you are ever in the area, you HAVE to check this place out. After taking some pictures (and by some I mean dozens!), we walked down a little trail to reach another viewpoint. Before we entered, though, there was a little cleaning station for shoes! I had no idea that these existed but they are such a great idea! In order to combat Kauri dieback, the Department for Conservation has implemented these stations at the New Zealand regional parks so that you can clean off any potentially harmful soil or dirt that you may have on your shoes. It's also pretty fun to do! After we went through that, it was a quick walk to another great viewpoint! We didn't try the longer trail so I can't speak on that but if you're looking for a quick and easy walk to see some beautiful landscapes, you absolutely have to come here.

The next few days flew by! One of our favourite pastimes is to grab some snacks from the store and sit on the beach to enjoy, so we've done quite a lot of that since being here! Herne Bay Beach in Auckland has been a particular favourite - it's small and feels more private than some other ones. We've visited Point Chevalier Beach (also in Auckland), which was nice and empty but was unfortunately pretty rainy. I'm sure on a nice, sunny day it would be great, though! I think the best beach we have been to in the past week has to be Piha Beach. It took us about an hour to get to Piha and it was so, so, so worth it. The drive was beautiful yet scary as it's full of twists and bends. We started off with a hike up into the trees, and then a shorter walk to Kitekite Falls, before ending with the black sand beach. I have to say, the sand was not particularly black, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Every single direction you look in is just breathtaking. The second I stepped out of the car, it was definitely one of those "Should I move here?" kind of moments. This beautiful little town has to be on your North Island bucket list. Make sure you prepare for strong winds though! Sand went EVERYWHERE whilst we were trying to sunbathe, even though we tried to protect ourselves whilst hiding in one of the alcoves in the rocks. I'm not sure if we went on a particularly windy day or if this area is usually like this, but regardless, be prepared!

A little less exciting than some of the other things we have done, but very necessary, we have tried to get as much of the admin-y bits out of the way. We've sorted out sim cards - there are lots of options to go for but we've gone with 2degrees. They offer group plans that work out cheaper for what we need than other phone companies. Every person's needs are different, though, so do your own research! Our plan costs NZ$100 a month (which is approximately £45 or US$56) for both of us to receive 80GB of data and unlimited texts/calls. So far, it seems to be pretty good! No complaints here. But if that changes, we'll let you know so you can get a first-hand insight into whether 2degrees is worth it or not. As well as sim cards, we have begun the process of opening a bank account, although this seems to be a much slower process than I expected. Like phone companies, there are a lot of options for banks here. We've chosen to go with ANZ, for no reason other than there is a branch pretty close to our accommodation in Auckland so it's easy to go in and chat with anyone if necessary. Hopefully, our bank accounts will be fully up and running soon so we can get a job and earn some money! The last bit of admin needed is the IRD number. Everyone who works here in New Zealand must get taxed and the IRD number is what the government uses to do this! It's like a National Insurance number if you're in the UK or TIN if you're in the US. In order to get this, though, you have to have a bank account, so it's on pause until we hear back from ANZ. That's all the boring stuff we have to update you on for now - it's not much since it's taking a while to process but it is a requirement to work here so it's important to mention.

I have to say, we've already been a lot more active here in New Zealand than in the UK or US. There is just so much to see and it is all so stunning, so you just want to get out and see it all! I have really enjoyed this aspect (although my legs would like some downtime to recover, I think) and I'm really, really excited to explore even more as we begin to travel around more of the North Island! Our next stop is Hamilton - we have a housesitting job there for just over a week. It's a relatively short drive from Auckland so we'll still be able to carry on exploring this region a little more before we finally head towards Wellington later on in February. There is just so much to see but not enough time to see it all, but we'll do the best we can to show you all as much of this beautiful country as possible.

We hope you're enjoying reading about our travels so far. Talk to you all soon!

Lots of love,
Limei and Niamh