Auckland - Pt. II (The Sequel)

Driving back down to Auckland after our whistle stop tour of the northern part of North Island, we had a few days to reacquaint with some Kiwi friends and prepare to fly to Australia.

We met Marion and Mark (M&M) in Edinburgh through mutual friends while they lived and worked in Scotland over ten years ago. We got in touch to say we would be in Auckland at some point and it would be lovely to meet up. A lot has happened in that time, particularly to them. They left Edinburgh, travelled through Europe, ‘Woofing’ as they went, having adventures along the way and fulfilling their dreams, before returning home to NZ to start a family. Along came daughter Riley and then later, her sister Tilda and they settled in the Glen Eden neighbourhood, south west of the city.

We had heard much about the kids from Mark, so we were quite excited to meet them in person! Mark informed us that Riley and Tilda wanted to show us their neighbourhood, to welcome us and that this was to take place in the local park and take the form of a small quest!

Greeted by a strange long haired and wise old seer that looked remarkably like Mark, we were told to approach ‘The Guardian’ (Tilda) on the bridge, to undergo a test of knowledge, presented in riddle form (gulp). Hard to solve but with assistance from the good seer, we eventually solved the riddles, and verily The Guardian let us pass and advised us to seek out ‘The Oracle’ (Riley). We followed the Guardian and when we met the Oracle her message to us involved us deciphering sign language (we were given a cheat sheet). After a patient Oracle related the signs (several times) to us less than average students, a message from Mark and Marion was revealed “We Miss You”!

A fun way to meet Tilda and Riley who were incredibly confident, patient and who were happy to jump in our hire car for a lift home, as we then had to beat the old seer in a race to their house! He was on foot but nippy for his old age.

It was lovely to find Marion at their house with a warm welcome and we all sat down to a lovely treat of a cuppa, some tasty macrons and Mr. Kipling’s Fondant Fancies!

Mark suggested a day out to the beach, one of their favourite things to do. Mark, Riley, Tilda and ourselves spent the afternoon at Piha Beach, while Marion went to a rehearsal for a play she is playing the lead in! She will take centre stage in Tititrangi Theatre’s production of the 53rd Victim, about the London 7/7 Bombings, based on a true story of one of the people involved.

Jumping in the car and driving through the hilly, forested Waitākere Ranges, west of Auckland, we wound along roads hemmed in by native rainforest curtain, drawing back temporarily to give teasing views of the coastline, and black sand beaches. Dropping down to Piha, the cove is book-ended by two giant chunks of rock. The beach made up of dark volcanic sand glistened in the sun and as we walked along it, the wind swept bands of sand past our feet. After a picnicking, some rock climbing, investigating of rock pools and with the promise of ice cream, we all returned to the car to journey back to the city. A truly stunning beach and coastline, we really enjoyed our afternoon with Mark and the kids and glad they shared the special spot with us.

After a nice tea of pizzas back at M&M’s we chatted and helped with the bedtime routine, with Riley and Tilda leading the way. Tales of when Riley and Tilda were young written by Mark delighted us, as did Tilda’s ability to say the longest NZ place name without missing a beat (with 105 letters it is also a Guinness World Record). It’s a smallish hill located in the south east of North Island. Have a go:

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu

A song Tilda played us, ‘Open Road’ by Ra Costelloe mentions the place. According to Google, it translates from Māori as “the summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the slider, climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.”

Once the kids were in bed we had a little time to catch up with Marion and Mark and it was great to hear about their lives and challenges and we enjoyed a good chat. They kindly put us up for the night and we were most grateful as they had work and school the next day.

After a good nights sleep we bade farewell to the kids and Marion. Dropping Mark off at his work, we headed back to the city centre to return our car, after a brief stop for breakfast on the Ponsonby Rd as recommended by Mark.
A nice warm and sunny day, we decided to walk back from the car hire place through the city to pick up our bikes from Benny’s.
Arriving at Benny’s shop, Amanda got a warm greeting from Aroha the dog. With Maybe Thom and Sexy Pete looking the best they have for a while, we rode to our accommodation with both bikes feeling and running great.

Next we went to collect cardboard bike boxes we had sought out by contacting a few bike shops in the area. A 40 min walk back into the city, it was an ideal afternoon being dry and warm, and although walking back with both big boxes was slower (we received strange looks as we plodded alongside busy roads with them) we got back in good time. After dropping the boxes at our Airbnb we jumped on our bikes to fetch our panniers and stuff we’d left at our friend Kiri’s.

Once back at our digs, we were now set to pack everything up to airline specifications the following day.

Dismantling the bikes - front wheel off, tyres deflated, pedals removed, seat lowered and handlebar turned 90 degrees to fit safely in each box. Once the bikes were boxed, we sorted through all our stuff selecting what could be sent home: afternoon post office trip. We then repacked our pannier bike bags to maximise our carry-on weight allowance (taking on to the plane every unrestricted heavy item we have). The rest of our collective stuff - going into the hold - we distributed across two holdalls (which we’d posted to M&M from Queenstown), in the best way to ensure our individual weight allowances fell within our excess baggage entitlement taking into account the different weight of the bikes. We were now ready for flight mode! Amazing how these things take longer than you think.

Kiri had kindly offered to collect bikes and bags - we were staying at hers tonight - and to take us to the airport the following day making use of the local hourly van hire scheme. Very generous and amazing of her, making our lives so much simpler. Kiri arrived in the van and whisked Amanda, and stuff to hers. Lilz walked over and with our bikes and stuff stored in the garage we went out for a walk.

Kiri showed us Mount Eden (Maungawhau) which is a cinder cone in the area and part of the Auckland volcanic field. It is the tallest of several cones in the city and is a Tūpuna Maunga (ancestral mountain) for the Māori. It is surrounded by a park with paths and has raised walkways at the summit, providing great views of the city and in every direction, with views reaching far to islands in the distance. We had lunch at a cafe, sitting outside in the hot afternoon sun.

We left Kiri to her planned afternoon and slowly wandered back through Mount Eden village with its numerous shops and cafes. On a busy road it had a nice community buzz about it.

We arrived back at Kiri’s late afternoon and started to make dinner, our way of saying thank you for all she has done and to Dan and her flatmates for letting us store our stuff and putting us up for a night. Cooking for 8 people was somewhat daunting, and we threw together a curry (burning a pot in the process: sorry Kiri). Sitting round the table we enjoyed getting to know Craig, Dan, Elliot, Nancy and Rhys a bit more. A really lovely bunch of friendly people!

Our last day in Auckland was pretty chilled, double checking our weights using Kiri’s bathroom scales, and going for a walk around the neighbourhood of steep streets, populated by old traditional wooden houses with ornate ironwork embellishing their verandas, complete with brick chimneys. Many houses are detached, single storey, with front and rear gardens and are set on long plots. The trees, shrubs and flowers add to the feel of softening the city and making it a lovely verdant environment, along with its parks and green spaces. We walked up to the water tower on top of another former volcanic cone - Mount Roskill (Puketāpapa) once part of three volcanic peaks (The Three Kings) and once a Māori defensive settlement and now the only peak remaining - the others were quarried away during development of the area. A small nature reserve and haven for the birds who flitted about, we enjoyed the undulating views from the top - of the city far in the distance, the coast, other volcanic cones, the surrounding suburban neighbourhoods and to Kiri’s house on top of the nearby hill.

We walked back to say our final goodbyes to Kiri and her flatmates. She collected the van and with Amanda and gear packed, set off to the airport with Lilz close behind in a taxi.
Sad to say goodbye, we thanked Kiri for all her help, kindness and hospitality. We loaded up some trolleys and made our way to check in, ready to fly out that evening.

Next stop: Melbourne, Australia and country No. 2!Read more