25th Dec 2009 – 8th January 2010
Christmas in Auckland - At the other end of the spectrum from the record breaking negative temperatures back home, Auckland enjoyed a sun baked December and Christmas was spent eating seafood and drinking chilled beers on the veranda. Being at the other side of the world didn't stop Claire, Joel and I enjoying a semi- traditional morning –tree lit up in the corner, stockings hung on the fireplace, presents left by Santa in neat piles on the living room floor, champagne flutes filled with cider, the folks on the couch via Skype, sun beating through the balcony doors and 2 insane kittens tearing through wrapping paper. You can probably spot the differences. After breakfast of cider, tangerines and chocolate coins, we headed round to Joel's brother place for a part bbq/part traditional Christmas lunch and equipped with factor 30, we saw out the rest of the day with the Davis family & friends and their accompanying animal farm (Colby the farm dog, Bells the lab, Kaya the terrier, Tashy the terrier pup and the kittens, Mavis & Marley). Skype played a huge part in the day (and in this trip) and as much as I've cursed it previously, it can certainly make life easy. So we got to speak to the family and friends back home and see the gardens a foot deep in snow and come midnight, although the sunshine still makes it feel like we're in the wrong season, it had been another great Christmas.
After it wasn't our day at the Auckland cup, we took the ferry to Waiheke Island where we stayed in a friend's stunning beach (almost) beach house next door to Joel's parents home. The weather was exceptional and although we never got round to the hot tub action we did manage to fit in some shoe shopping (me), fishing (the boys), wine tasting (the girls), the beach (girls again), bloody mary's (all of us) and sightseeing (all of us). Waiheke is an hour west of Auckland and has a laid back hippy vibe – it also has more sunshine and warmer weather than the mainland, a gorgeous coast, the freshest seafood and the best NZ wines so you can see why some people have never left. However, island life for us is best done over a few days and we headed back to the city and onwards to Kia Iwi lakes to bring in 2010.
New Year at the lakes - For the majority of us, camping, like island life, is best done over a few days so it was fairly impressive that 6 of our group had been set up for nearly a week by the time we arrived. Meeting in a half way pub then driving in a 5 car convoy, we stocked up at the supermarket and headed out to the field that gets used every celebration for campers who have chosen not to use the campsite. $10 a night gets you a spot beside the lake and use of a couple of drop toilets, which I won't go into. The others had bought a gazebo and solar shower for everyone (latter never used) and we pitched our tents in a circle within a circle of our cars for the perfect NY set up. Dinner was sausage sandwiches, as was breakfast and lunch, and the entertainment was a few thrown together (and best not mentioned) activities, the gorgeous sunshine, the lake and a group of crazy kiwis. What more can you ask for? And even though cloudless days mean cold nights and we waited for the countdown (done randomly throughout the packed field) in jumpers and sleeping bags, the campsite rocked on until the early hours. New Year's Eve well spent.
Roadtrip to Rotorua & Taupo - 3 hours south of Auckland is Rotorua, a cute town famous for hot springs and mineral pools however this natural spa treatment comes inclusive of the smell of sulphur, which isn't unlike rotten eggs, hence the nickname Rottenrua. This aside, the multicoloured lakes, bubbling puddles of mud and explosive geysers make it all worthwhile and a late night spa in 42° pools is always going to be fun! We spent a couple of nights in this region and I got to fulfil my desire to Zorb – a New Zealand invention involving strapping someone inside a giant bouncy ball and pushing down a hill. It's slightly crazy and lots of fun. From Rotorua, we travelled south again and ended up in Taupo where I spent the afternoon in a roof garden catching up on Edward and Bella ('Twilight' craze that I am way behind) and Claire and Joel went to catch some prawns (singular). The festive period was finally catching up and we skipped the Tui bar for the movies and got ourselves a semi early night before tomorrow's drive home via the beach.
Back in Auckland and it's now the 10th of January and we're getting ready for a couple more big weekends including The Big Day Out festival, another visit to Waiheke and whatever else life throws. Bring it on 2010!
