Hello! Raining today after 4 or so days of sweet sweet sunshine. Yesterday I even had the windows in our new place open letting a cool, dry breeze through. The apartment tends to stay a bit dank and dark so any sunshine = warmth and wind is welcome. In fact our space heater is my new bff! So to catch you up Paul and I had a really awesome weekend. We were invited out to Waiheke Island which is about a 35 minute ferry ride east of the city centre of Auckland. The ferry alone was exciting right?! Well it got exponentially better from there. We were greeted at the ferry by our hosts Mark, Ro and Mac the 4 month old puppy. Mac was beyond adorable, wriggling around with his gumby like lanky legs and just overjoyed with pretty much anything he encountered. The best part is he reminded me so much of Bitty since he is a black Poodle (Standard) mixed with Springer Spaniel – such a cutie with a sweet devilish temperament. From the ferry we drove out to their house which was an impressive modern open floor plan tucked into the hillside near the top of a beautiful ridge overlooking every shade of green, vineyards and the Hauraki Gulf peaking over the horizon. We drank and ate like kings and queens enjoying the company immensely. Sunday morning we woke up to a warm and cozy sunrise followed by a stroll on the beach with Mac and our new friends. After a snooze in the sunshine we headed out for a fishing expedition to the far end of the island. Only one fish was caught but it was a glorious day out in the fresh air. We can’t thank our hosts enough for their incredible hospitality and allowing us a brief encounter with their beautiful life on that island.
This week Paul has been hard at work while I make this new place something to call home. My job hunt is slow going but given our circumstances I want to find something that fits so we can enjoy this fabulous country!
