Driving North

It's been a good first week with my car. We've driven a thousand kilometers together and seen a lot of beaches, bays and highways.

Good morning car

Saturday Ross and I went North on a road trip. At brunchtime we had French toasts at a cafe overlooking the Bay of Islands.

Not the last time I visit Bay of Islands

Full of energy we did a two hour hike to the Haruru falls.

I didn't think it would be safe to jump in

On the way there we saw something, guess what it is?

We hitched a ride back to the carpark and drove on further North.

The Epica enjoys the view too

Where oceans meet
When you drive until you can't get any further North in New Zealand you arrive at Cape Reinga. To the Maori it is a mythical place, where souls descend to the afterlife. To tourists it is a rare chance to see the Tasman sea meet the pacific ocean.

Both seas were calm in their own way. The Tasman was rolling in, endlessly crashing on the western shore. The Pacific serenely absorbed the waves as soon they crossed the Cape.

Cape Reinga, where oceans meet

We met this little fat, running bird on our way back to the car. Google tells me it's a Fernbird.

Fernbirds can fly, but they like running better

Dinner in Paihia

We drove back the way we came and had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Paihia.

Even in winter, the night in Paihia is full of life

After another three hours of driving we got back to Auckland. I fell asleep fast, feeling a good mix of exhaustion and achievement.

My first car

I always thought my first car would be awful. I would buy something barely road-worthy and drive it until it became both undrivable and unsellable.

Then I moved to New Zealand and my perceptions started slowly to change. At first, I didn't think I would be able to afford a car. Even though I have a great job, my salary is about half of what I would get in Denmark (sure, lower taxes helps, but still).

As time went by, I discovered, with mild surprise that my colleagues drive very nice cars and in fact it would be fitting for me to drive a proper car. Take that, and add the fact that NZ has almost no tax on cars and suddenly I can seriously consider buying a decent car.

Car fair
I went to the car fair this Sunday, without knowing if I would buy a car or not. No need to hurry with an important decision like this.

The first car we test drove was a Toyota (model?). It felt exactly like expected. Reliable. Heavy. The seller was a nice guy from Fiji, who seemed eager to negotiate for price. My experienced trader friend, Ross, handled that on my behalf. Without wasting any time, he got us a good idea of the actual price of the car before we moved on.

Not a bad car, but the steering is heavy

A couple of short inspections and chats later, we found another car to test drive. Ross was leading the conversation and I stood back looking sceptical. The seller kept on talking about how good it was to drive, but that didn't impress me much. My rational brain told me that a powerful engine doesn't come cheap and there is no need for one in New Zealand, where the maximum speed is 100 km/hour.

Somehow, my reservations disappeared once I got inside the car. The Holden Epica 2010, 2L diesel engine, runs incredibly smooth and accelerates faster than I will ever need. It's got Tiptronic transmission, so I can run it almost like a manual or leave it in automatic as I see fit. There's also cruise control and all the other little benefits of a reasonably new car.

It's a deal

The drawback is that it's got 200.000 k's on it already. It used to be a lease car for Repco, so it has covered some ground in it's short lifetime. I know it's a risk. And I don't like risks. But there's a limit to this one, because the car was so cheap I bought it for cash. Yes, a lot of cash.

I look way too happy

Straight to Piha

So what's the first thing to do when you get a car in Auckland? Go to Piha. Everyone has been telling me about the west coast beaches, but they are completely inaccessible to a carless person. I have wanted to go for a long time, so it was an easy decision for my first small road-trip.

I can't describe my feelings in words here,
the west coast sea does something to me

What a day
Exhausted emotionally, I parked in the driveway outside the house at seven. Just in time for Ross and I to cook dinner for the flat. Sin Yat is going away soon for a holiday in Europe, so it was nice to say goodbye with a meal.

Sleep in

This Saturday I woke up late. Still tired. I went directly into, turned off the noisy jets, and almost fell asleep again. At eleven, I was in the sauna, telling myself I should be less tired.

The night before, was the night of our office mid-winter dinner. A much anticipated social event, that mirrors European christmas dinners. It started early, like any end of month Friday, with drinks and snacks in Aphrodite (the name of our office kitchen makes a lot of sense to us).

Around seven we were picked up by a couple of big cabs and driven to a fancy restaurant on the North Shore called Eight Two. Here we met up again in the lobby to socialise over a glass of champagne. We had an excellent three course menu. My choices were the raw marinated kingfish starter, John Dory in white sauce as main and an olive oil cake for desert. Yum.

When the restaurant closed, there were cabs waiting to take us back into the city. They dropped us off at a bar near the office and that's how it got late...

Street Eats festival
Luckily, I didn't get much time to feel sorry for myself. Sin Yat asked me to join him for the Steet Eats festival around lunchtime and my stomach instantly agreed. Good thing it did, because Street Eats turned out to be a really cool event.

A lot of restaurants had sent their chefs to show off their street food skills and the place was packed with people wanting a taste.

Some people sat down, but most walked around
with their street food

Tiny kitchens, grand food

Sin Yat lends a hand at the Joiy stand,
he is on the board as an investor

The title

May also refer to being embarrassingly late Monday morning, but let's not talk about that...

Honoured with a chocolate frog

I've been working a lot lately. Not because I have to, but because I like to. I have become very comfortable in the office.

Mornings at the office
Every morning, I have my breakfast in front of my computer, while I check my emails or read something of interest. I like regularity for breakfast, and I get that in the form of plain rolled oats with milk. I'm peculiar about the type of milk and the type of oat, but once I've got both right there is no other breakfast I would rather have.

Then there's morning tea at ten, when the office gets together for a morning chat over a cup of tea and a biscuit. I'll have two. Maybe three. If it's a Thursday the biscuits are replaced by something better, like sliders and cup cakes.

At lunchtime some of us do yoga on Mondays. It's great. I really, really like it. The way Nadia teaches it, yoga is all about posture and breathing. It's the most inward looking sport I have ever encountered, and it suits me. Ok, it's not really sport, but it is exercise and I know it is good for me, body and soul.

On Wednesdays we have a skills session. It always starts with a great lunch and then we go on to learn something new. After lunch is when we really start working, unless we go for a walk in the park first.

I got a choco-laide!

But even with all of these breaks, I am actually doing a good job. That's how I got my first choco-laide at this Tuesday's planning meeting.

Yes, here success is measured in chocolate fish frogs

Another homely weekend
It's nice, working, but I know that I should be careful not to become too absorbed. If I'm not careful I will become sedentary as (if I wasn't speaking Kiwi I could say "as a couch potato", but I'm trying my best here).

Sure enough, I'm hoping to become more active by buying a car. That makes sense, right? With a car I could go places and do stuff. Without a car I have to walk or take the bus, so I'll sometimes just stay at home and play boardgames.

Which by the way is not a bad way to spend a weekend at all. Yesterday I had a phenomenal game of Agricola. My pig-catching, basin-making, 5 person stonehouse was worth 71 points (that makes sense only if you are a hardcore fan of the game) and the compliments continued today.

Thanks, thanks, I was in luck.

All Blacks crush the Wallabies

The All Blacks crushed the Wallabies yesterday in a highly anticipated match for the Bledisloe Cup. Ross and I watched the game from a bar in Sky City. It would have been great to be in Eden Park, but all 48.000 tickets sold out before we got around to buying some.

But watching the game from a pub is another part of Kiwi culture, that I am excited to be part of. I think that's how most people watch the games, because you need an expensive Sky TV package to watch them from home. At first we went to a sports bar, but it was full.

According to the doorman this bar is full

Then we went upstairs to a much cooler bar, with better video and sound.

Sky City is a cool place.
It's fancy, futuristic and all about entertainment

Sadly we were not in time to watch the Haka (starts at 3.22)

It was a great game and I'm glad that I have learned enough of the rules by now to appreciate that. The rest of the night is as blurry as the pictures on my phone. I remember losing my keys and Ross's jumper and getting both back before the end of the night.

True multiculture

I've been meaning to write about Kiwi culture for a long time. I've been collecting quotes from flatmates, colleagues and friends, but it's not always easy to know what is Kiwi and what just someone being weird. Like when Andrew said "I like bland shit" (about food preferences) I figure he was just being Andrew. But when my buddy Campbell said "Chur, bro", I'm pretty sure he was talking Kiwi.

But I've found a better way to tell you about Kiwi slang. Read this girl's blog post. She explains how Kiwis talk in a hilarious-because-it's-true way. I can personally attest to 20 of the 25 points - her comments are spot-on.

Me Talk Kiwi One Day

Hispanic housewarming
This week, I was at a housewarming with my new Mexican friend Javier. It was a blast. 18 mostly Hispanic people in a small loud place. Lovely people of whom I had met a few before at Research Association events (where I also met Javier). Despite good intentions, I was almost rudely early for the party. I arrived only 5 minutes after the time I was invited for - that's at least half an hour early, Spanish time.

Singaporean national anniversairy
Tonight Singapore is celebrating it's 50th anniversary as a nation. There has been some buzz about it at the office, because we have 2 NeedScopers on secondmendt there. I am following the parade live here from my Mairangi Bay tonight with Sin Yat my Singaporean landlord.

Did I tell you I love culture?

Oh yeah, and I'm teaching myself Chinese. Nǐ hǎo!

Should I buy a car?

New Zealand is a land of adventure. There's so much to explore. So much to do. All you need is a way to move and a carry your things. Lots of people get that by putting on a backpack and sticking out a thumb to hitch a ride. But that's not me.

It will feel like spring soon, I'm sure, because even now I still wear shorts and a t-shirt on warm days. When spring really arrives I want to be able to explore more of North Island, than I have yet. The key for me will be to buy or rent a car. With that I could go all over and still be sure to get back by Sunday.

A trip to Orewa
This weekend the furthest I got was Orewa. It's an hour North of Auckland. An ideal suburb retreat. Insignificant. I chose to get off there, because the bus I had chosen didn't go any further.

Nice little town, lots of shops in the central square

Long, flat, family friendly beach

The walk around the bluff was a good little adventure

The trip to Orewa is what got me thinking about getting a car. Sure it's nice to walk out the door without knowing where you are going. Then choosing a random bus that goes far and getting off at the last stop. But it's not very convenient is it? The inefficiency of the bus network irks me and even though I enjoy reading on the bus, an hour is about my limit before I get bored or fall asleep.

I'm sure a car is the right decision. Now I just have to do the math: buy or rent?