Hey, everyone! Well, I made it safely to Auckland in Aotearoa AKA New Zealand! Some of you may not have heard of Aotearoa before. It is the Māori name for New Zealand – meaning “land of the long, white cloud”. Aotearoa is comprised of two main islands: the north and south islands. I am currently on the north island in Auckland but the south island is also notoriously incredible so I’ll have to make it there at some point.
America to Aotearoa/New Zealand
I woke up early my last day in America. I wanted more time to hang out with my parents before leaving. We took Gizmo to the dog park but mostly just chilled and talked. Before long, it was time to drive in to Chicago for the airport.
As we said our goodbyes, I started crying again. I mentioned it in my last post but even though this time didn’t feel quite as intense, I still found myself occasionally getting emotional. The farewell (for now) to my parents did me in.
And then I felt bad because I wanted them to see me smiling and happy to be going on my new adventure… but really, they saw me crying and feeling sad to be parting ways with them. I love my family very much. It’s hard to leave! Later, in the airport, I saw a kindred spirit who was also sobbing as he rushed to make his flight. I’m not the only one!
The first leg of the trip was easy enough. Chicago to Los Angeles – I’d never been to the LAX airport before. A three hour layover and then a 13 hour flight from LAX to Auckland. I was prepared for the worst but the flight ended up being pretty easy. I watched a movie and then after eating, I ended up somehow sleeping for majority of the flight. I think I slept for eight hours! There was some really crazy turbulence at one point, though. Occasionally, it was a little in and out but mostly it was pretty solid. I’ve never slept that much on a flight before.
Around 6am, I arrived in Auckland. I apparently like to find things to stress about so I was worried about a few things upon arrival.
- Would my visa somehow get declined? (It didn’t.)
- Would my checked baggage get lost? (It didn’t.)
- Would my vape juice get confiscated even though nicotine juice is legal in New Zealand? (It didn’t.)
And then… I was here! In New Zealand! Cool. I ended up buying a transit pass and taking the bus into the city. I needed some help while on the bus and a teenager helped me out. “You get off at X stop to transfer to the city.” He then asked me if I was new to Aotearoa and was super nice and helpful. Others were very kind that first day. People are willing to help when you need it, I think.
Once in the city, it started to rain. Without cell data, I managed to find my hostel and dropped off my bags. I had a couple of hours before I could check into the hostel, so I decided to use the time to set up my NZ phone number, check in with my parents, open up a bank account, and apply for my NZ tax number (IRD). Lots got done that first day!
Maungawhau/Mount Eden
After the rain stopped and I finished my errands, I decided it was time to explore. I hadn’t heard of Mount Eden before but after looking it up things to do in Auckland, I chose it as my main activity for the day.
I’m glad because it ended up being stunning.
It took about forty minutes to get there. A lot of the streets in Auckland are STEEP – now that it’s been a few days, my shins have been feeling it haha. The trek to get to Mount Eden involved some definite inclines.
Mount Eden was once an active volcano but is now a crater. It isn’t ridiculously high – it’s really just a super large hill. There were boardwalks leading up to the top. Fun fact… Auckland sits atop an active lava field and has over 50 volcanoes. (The most recently active was 700 years ago.)
I had briefly seen a picture online but was surprised by the size of the crater upon arrival. It reminded me of Kerið crater in Iceland. I walked to the tallest part of the crater’s ridge and sat for a while, observing the beautiful Auckland skyline from the vantage point and also peering into the crater. People aren’t allowed to trek down into the crater anymore since it’s protected as a sacred place for the Māori people. Walking along the ridge on the boardwalk is okay, though!
I sat for some time and then began my journey back to the city.
As I was making my way down the mountain, I spotted the tūī bird – a very interesting, almost Bird-of-Paradise-looking bird that is quite common in New Zealand. It has a beautiful call.
After chilling at my hostel, I went to grab food at a vegan restaurant – Sunflower Vegan Restaurant. Sunflowers? Vegan? THAI? Count me in. Once I finished eating, I returned to my hostel and crashed for the night.
Auckland Domain
The next day, I went and exercised at nearby Albert Park and then got ready for my day. I had two main objectives – go find the SeaLink ferry terminal, and go to Auckland Domain to walk around for a while.
I wanted to check out the SeaLink terminal for two reasons… one, I used to work at SeaLink in Australia. The Australian and New Zealand companies were a single company years ago but they separated at a certain point. The second reason I went to visit it is that I had interviewed for a job at the NZ (New Zealand) SeaLink and wanted to see what the location looked like. The area is currently under construction so it looked like a bit of a shitshow.
I stopped for lunch and then made my way to the Auckland Domain. Apparently, a lot of the larger parks here are called “domains”. I don’t remember ever hearing that before!
The domain was quite lovely. There are a few small walking trails in the domain. I walked up one of them called the Lovers’ Walk… it was quite muddy since it had rained a couple of days prior. When I got to the end of the walk, I discovered the walk was actually supposed to be closed because of the rainfall/landslides! I guess they forgot to fence off the side I entered it on haha. I sat down at the domain’s “Duck Pond” for some time before heading back to my hostel. The rest of my day was pretty chill. I walked around for a little while at night after dinner.
Stillwater
After a few days exploring Auckland CBD, I took the bus out to Hibiscus Coast and Stillwater. I went to the Okura bush walk which ended up being lovely. Feeling somewhat underwhelmed by Auckland’s CBD, it was nice to be immersed in nature once again. Near the water, a section of the beach was fenced off to keep people away from the dotterel’s nesting area. Such curious birds. They remind me of the curlews in Darwin and Cairns.
The hike was solid!
Far off the beach, there was a beautiful cliff face leading into the water – the top of the peninsula was covered in vibrantly green grass. Dormant volcanoes were viewable in the distance.
So many birds around, too! Fairy terns, which I’d rarely seen in Perth, godwits (which I jokingly called “fuckwits”), oystercatchers. New Zealand isn’t outrageously saturated with wildlife in the way Australia is… but what it does have is birds. I’m particularly keen on seeing kiwi birds – which are endangered.
Back to the walk… At a certain point, the trail lead up to a higher elevation where I was offered a nicer perspective of the ocean and distant hills. Throughout the walk, the vegetation was thick and mostly had a tropical feeling. Lovely!
Later, I took the bus back to the CBD.
Mount Hobson
On another day, I walked an hour outside town to go to Mount Hobson – yet another volcanic spot. It was pretty steep to get to the top at points!
While it doesn’t have a deep crater like Mount Eden, I still found it impressive. I stayed there for over an hour, taking in the view.
The above picture might not look like much, but… it is a volcanic cone!
From the distance, Mount Rangitoto was visible – the most recent volcano in Auckland to erupt, around 700 years ago.
More exploring to come!
Miscellaneous
One minor thing I forgot to mention about my time in the Midwest… at one point, I was joking with Joey and I asked him, “Do you think angels smoke?” Without missing a beat, he responded, “Yeah, that’s where clouds come from.” I died. I thought that was terribly funny.
One of my favorite bands – Metric – came out with a new album on the day I left. How cool is that?
Art of the Week
I haven’t been working on art lately. There isn’t even really a table at this current hostel for me to use haha. Hopefully soon! Once I’m in Wellington, I’ll work on something. Maybe before then!
Reflections
Aotearoa… New Zealand… what should I do? I have been feeling incredibly torn lately. Auckland is a nice city but similar to my feelings about Melbourne… it just feels too city-y. Too much of a trek to get out into nature. I have been considering other places and will likely be heading down to Wellington, the southernmost part of the north island and also the capital of New Zealand. Wellington is surrounded by lots of hills, lots of walking trails. It supposedly gets incredibly windy there. Like… One-of-the-windiest-cities-in-the-world windy, but, hey… my last name is Wind and I’m from the Windy City (even though Chicago wasn’t given that nickname after being windy haha – it’s the hot-headed politicians!). Wellington is also far enough south that it’s possible to occasionally see the southern lights. That sounds like a dream to me.
I also looked at the other major cities – Christchurch and Queenstown. I ruled Christchurch out pretty immediately as the city itself is very flat and the mountains/hills aren’t super easy to get to without a car, similar to Auckland. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains, but its population is so small… I think I would get a little lonely there. It’s also very expensive when it comes to hostels. And it would be colder.
SO. I’m thinking Wellington is the move. I want to make it clear that it’s not as if I hate Auckland and I’m not miserable here. It seems like a lovely city and one I’ll return to before I leave New Zealand. However, I want to find work in a place that suits my interests a little better. A place I can go hiking easily on my days off work, where I feel more connected to nature, where I can try to hunt the southern lights on clear nights. Smaller town vibes. I like those spots.
And then – there is the anxiety. Will I find a job? It feels as if I’ve applied to 200 places the last few days (and also the last month, since I was applying for some jobs prior to being in NZ). I KNOW it will work out. I will find work somewhere. I’ve already had two interviews. And yet… the stress, the anxiety. I try to calm myself down but then I accidentally hype myself up again. Sigh! I think I will likely be struggling with some low-to-mid-grade anxiety until I find a job. That’s okay. This too shall pass.
What’s next? I have a few days left in my Auckland hostel. I pre-emptively booked a (refundable) hostel in Wellington starting the 25th but if I get a job offer in Auckland before then, I will consider cancelling the hostel and staying. We will see.
That’s all for now, folks! Sending you all my love. xx
P.S. Please send positive vibes for a job offer somewhere! Haha
P.P.S. I wanted to mention another reason I think Wellington is kind of calling to me. When working on the boats in Perth, the skippers would read off a “script” where they talk about interesting facts about the city. One of those “facts” would say how Perth is one of the windiest cities in the world, behind Wellington and one other city. Perth actually doesn’t even make the top ten in windiest cities so… that script was outdated. But I think the Wellington “seed” was planted back in Perth, when I was hearing about the city of Wellington multiple times a week. Gotta follow my instincts, as my mom affirmed for me.
