Hello again, darling travel blog followers! I am writing this to you from my balcony (ooh la la), with occasional breaks to admire the amazing old trees in the park that my apartment borders and beyond them the city skyline and the blue, blue sea. The sun is beginning to set and soon the stars will appear- a real treat in a city, to have such clear night skies. Walked into a fence pole the other night as I was so distracted by their scope- good one, Lucy. Then swore not to tell anyone of my foolishness. Hum. The pain from the bruise from that incident, however, has simply merged with my pain-from-trying-to-keep-up-with-bouldering-freaks-at-uni-climbing-wall and the classic pain-from-Auckland’s-stupidly-steep-hills-no-matter-which-way-you-walk. Luckily there is an abundance of Whitakers Chocolate here to soothe my broken body- Whitakers being the only chocolate brand I know of which makes a ridiculous range of dark chocolate that I can eat- I set myself the lofty goal of trying them all. Which I achieved in an (I believe record breaking) 3 days.
Auckland, with its abundance of ridiculously blue turquoise water and aforementioned huge trees, gives off a distinctly Aussie beach-town vibe- everything seems a bit more genuine, a bit more laid back, than Melbourne. My university reflects this on a smaller scale- while the student population is certainly ethnically varied, there are no hipsters to be found- goodbye corduroy-pants-rolled-up-at-the-ankles-with-my-grandpa’s-cardigan, I won’t be seeing you anymore. My classes appear to be a complete mixed bag- while my advanced Chinese and Spanish classes appear to be a step up from Melbourne and promise to be quite challenging, my 3rd year Geography subject so far has involved brainstorming on butchers paper, and a crazy French lecturer whose first words were, “Ok, I’ll just say them now so you can move on quickly, yes? Here we go… Beach. And… Sheet.” (Imagine this with quite a strong French accent and you’ll see why we were amused). He then proceeded to tell us about our assessment, which is a treasure hunt, and how he wasn’t going to give us the readings until after class so we wouldn’t approach the lectures with bias. Magnifique!
I’ve been thwarted by maps frequently, with Google declining to mark contours- not a problem in flat flat Melbourne, but an oversight which has lead to me facing many a challenging hill climb while searching for kiteboarding shops, vegan cafes or just somewhere new and exciting.
After an atrocious coffee experience at uni, I decided that trying-out-the-cute-café-just-because-I-love-its-quirky-décor is NOT sufficient reason to risk a weak-and-watery-yet-still-expensive letdown. Thus, I did my research and emerged from Google clutching a list, which I slid into my Lonely Planet ready for those coffee cravings while out and about- so far I haven’t been disappointed, finding that Auckland’s coffee-loving hipster vein beats strongly in small, out of the way cafes, hidden amongst industrial districts or narrow laneways.
After cornering every bike shop employee I’ve happened across and interrogating them about the where-when-what-transport-trails of the Auckland mountain bike scene, I’ve been informed that night riding is the bomb in Domain Park- you aren’t allowed to ride the trails in the daytime as they are for walkers, but apparently come dark headlamps are cranked up to full and some sweet stair sections and tight corners turn into a playground. Oh, and did I mention Domain Park is my backyard? My. Back. Yard.
The first few days of a new city always involve putting yourself at the mercy of strangers- which, while somewhat daunting and occasionally dignity destroying, is a really good way to get the feel for a country and those who call it home. I’ve had a bus driver, who had 12 minutes before his next route began, drive me to the bus stop I should have been at- I’ve had another bus driver wait patiently while I sorted my money ($2 coins are the larger gold coin here, say what?!) and then waited until I’d unloaded my kite bag and safely sat down before driving off. A very far cry from my last bus experience, which was Russia’s gnarly speed-of-a-luge, unforgiving-grunt-of-a-mac-truck excuse for a public transport system. This bus hopping adventure was all in the name of my first time kiting here in Auckland- enter Point Chevalier. Huge, mirror-like flat water, gusty as it is a little inland but practically empty- as the population here is so small, when you take the proportion that kites you end up with a bare handful of kiters, as Lee explained- a lovely Kiwi who as a kite school here, took pity on me walking and gave me a gratefully accepted lift to my new local spot.
The to-do list for this week involves acquiring a car-My American housemate Ryan and I are going to go halves in some sort of vehicle- Ryan wants a wagon, I want a van, we would both love an amphibious-army-special-issue-conquering-all monster- I’m sure we’ll reach some sort of compromise that leaves both of us able to get to the surf most days of the week, which is actually all we really care about. I’m also going to check out some local climbing crags with another American, Morgan, who is a neighbour here in the student apartments- so many Americans, I’ve already fallen prey to ‘duvet’ and ‘college’- I may return with an American accent. You have been warned. Oh and maybe I’ll go to class. Probably. (Calm down Mum, of course I’ll go.)
Here are a few pictures from my first week- exploring with my housemates, or just wandering around (usually completely, blissfully, lost) by myself.
Auckland, with its abundance of ridiculously blue turquoise water and aforementioned huge trees, gives off a distinctly Aussie beach-town vibe- everything seems a bit more genuine, a bit more laid back, than Melbourne. My university reflects this on a smaller scale- while the student population is certainly ethnically varied, there are no hipsters to be found- goodbye corduroy-pants-rolled-up-at-the-ankles-with-my-grandpa’s-cardigan, I won’t be seeing you anymore. My classes appear to be a complete mixed bag- while my advanced Chinese and Spanish classes appear to be a step up from Melbourne and promise to be quite challenging, my 3rd year Geography subject so far has involved brainstorming on butchers paper, and a crazy French lecturer whose first words were, “Ok, I’ll just say them now so you can move on quickly, yes? Here we go… Beach. And… Sheet.” (Imagine this with quite a strong French accent and you’ll see why we were amused). He then proceeded to tell us about our assessment, which is a treasure hunt, and how he wasn’t going to give us the readings until after class so we wouldn’t approach the lectures with bias. Magnifique!
I’ve been thwarted by maps frequently, with Google declining to mark contours- not a problem in flat flat Melbourne, but an oversight which has lead to me facing many a challenging hill climb while searching for kiteboarding shops, vegan cafes or just somewhere new and exciting.
After an atrocious coffee experience at uni, I decided that trying-out-the-cute-café-just-because-I-love-its-quirky-décor is NOT sufficient reason to risk a weak-and-watery-yet-still-expensive letdown. Thus, I did my research and emerged from Google clutching a list, which I slid into my Lonely Planet ready for those coffee cravings while out and about- so far I haven’t been disappointed, finding that Auckland’s coffee-loving hipster vein beats strongly in small, out of the way cafes, hidden amongst industrial districts or narrow laneways.
After cornering every bike shop employee I’ve happened across and interrogating them about the where-when-what-transport-trails of the Auckland mountain bike scene, I’ve been informed that night riding is the bomb in Domain Park- you aren’t allowed to ride the trails in the daytime as they are for walkers, but apparently come dark headlamps are cranked up to full and some sweet stair sections and tight corners turn into a playground. Oh, and did I mention Domain Park is my backyard? My. Back. Yard.
The first few days of a new city always involve putting yourself at the mercy of strangers- which, while somewhat daunting and occasionally dignity destroying, is a really good way to get the feel for a country and those who call it home. I’ve had a bus driver, who had 12 minutes before his next route began, drive me to the bus stop I should have been at- I’ve had another bus driver wait patiently while I sorted my money ($2 coins are the larger gold coin here, say what?!) and then waited until I’d unloaded my kite bag and safely sat down before driving off. A very far cry from my last bus experience, which was Russia’s gnarly speed-of-a-luge, unforgiving-grunt-of-a-mac-truck excuse for a public transport system. This bus hopping adventure was all in the name of my first time kiting here in Auckland- enter Point Chevalier. Huge, mirror-like flat water, gusty as it is a little inland but practically empty- as the population here is so small, when you take the proportion that kites you end up with a bare handful of kiters, as Lee explained- a lovely Kiwi who as a kite school here, took pity on me walking and gave me a gratefully accepted lift to my new local spot.
The to-do list for this week involves acquiring a car-My American housemate Ryan and I are going to go halves in some sort of vehicle- Ryan wants a wagon, I want a van, we would both love an amphibious-army-special-issue-conquering-all monster- I’m sure we’ll reach some sort of compromise that leaves both of us able to get to the surf most days of the week, which is actually all we really care about. I’m also going to check out some local climbing crags with another American, Morgan, who is a neighbour here in the student apartments- so many Americans, I’ve already fallen prey to ‘duvet’ and ‘college’- I may return with an American accent. You have been warned. Oh and maybe I’ll go to class. Probably. (Calm down Mum, of course I’ll go.)
Here are a few pictures from my first week- exploring with my housemates, or just wandering around (usually completely, blissfully, lost) by myself.
