Auckland Adventures

Well today was definitely amazing. The geography teacher, and all around outdoor expert Joe led us on an outdoor adventure filled day. First we visited a beautiful beach at Mission Bay right outside the main Auckland city center where there were lots of volcanic rocks from the volcano Rangitoto that sits across the way. The water was light blue and the weather outside was again, gorgeous. Next we traveled to one of the many other volcanoes that Auckland sits atop, Mount Eden. Once we reached the summit, the view of the Auckland cityscape and surrounding bay, with the green mountain volcanoes set in the background was simply picturesque. 

After Mount Eden, we made our way to a nature reserve where we did a "bush walk" as the locals would say through a forest bursting with exotic plants that made you feel as though you had stepped back in time to when dinosaurs ruled the land. Here we saw some of the great kauri, majestic trees that grow very large, very slowly. New Zealand is having a problem with the kauri trees dying from bacteria spread to their surprisingly delicate roots for such a large tree. To avoid bringing any bacteria into contact with the trees, we had to spray our shoes with a special disinfectant before we entered and exited the reserve. Seeing the great kauri trees today was a great preview for my internship starting in March where I will be working with a professor who is studying them. The main plant type in this reserve were ferns; tree ferns, silver ferns, you name it, it was there. The silver fern is actually the symbol of New Zealand and appears on all the rugby sports teams in some fashion. I also spotted the fern that was featured on the cover of my AP Biology textbook in high school which was pretty exciting (Nerd alert). . I also managed to capture a picture of the wood pigeon which is essentially a beautiful version of your common pigeon.

500 year old Kauri

Fern from Bio Textbook

Wood pigeon!

After exiting the forest, our next stop was a secluded lake hugged by black sand dunes and green mountains. Walking through the dunes was fun in the black volcanic ash sand because it was so fine that it felt like dust more than sand. Some people swam in the lake, others attempted to touch the cows grazing on the mountain, and all of us enjoyed a nice lunch. After, we made our way to a large dune where we ran and jumped off and down the dune and came back covered in black. We then walked through a river which cooled our burning feet from the hot sand and made our way to Bethel's Beach, a black sand beach along the Tasman Sea. The beach was surrounded by caves and inlets and plenty for us to explore. Cricket was set up and played, and fun was had by all. 

After spending a couple hours here, we headed back to the apartments and washed up for a dinner and drinks at an irish pub courtesy of BU. Now I am nursing some very blistered feet and drinking a nice cup of tea with some biscuits before bed. And oh would you look at that, some black sand just poured out of my ear; this will certainly be an interesting night.

Best,

Malani

I made it!

It took  43 hours from the time I left home to the moment I got to the apartment in Auckland and boy did it take its toll. As I walked up to the front desk, checked in and got the key, I didn't understand why the manager was looking at me so strangely. I thanked him and brought my suitcase up to the 8th floor and into my new room. Only then did I see my reflection in the mirror.....eyes bloodshot, hair sticking every which way positively screaming at me and clothes entirely disheveled. The only saving grace was that my roommates were out at the moment and I had a little time to find a brush and fix my clothes.

My journey to New Zealand took me from Boston to LA, LA to Fiji and a final leg from Fiji to Auckland. Unfortunately the flight from LA to Fiji was delayed, so I didn't have much time between that flight and the one to Auckland, but even from the airport you can get a sense of how lush and green and tropical Fiji is. From the plane, the green mountains were beautiful and the tops of the houses were colorful. Here are a couple pictures the British man in the window seat of my row was nice enough to take for me.

It seems very untouched in areas where people live simply, surrounded by nature. Getting from the plane to the airport was an outdoor walkway so you could feel the humidity like a punch in the stomach. Needless to say, my Boston winter wear didn't last very long. When the plane descended into Auckland, we were provided (despite the light rain) with another gorgeous green landscape that reminded me of Ireland. It is much more hilly and rugged in some places and sparsely populated, until all of a sudden there were houses/buildings galore. You can see mountains from the airport which is completely decked out in Lord of the Rings fashion. I took a shuttle into the city and the bus driver was nice enough to drive me a few blocks past the bus stop closer to the apartment.

The apartment itself is very nice, there are four girls in two bedrooms with two bathrooms, laundry, a kitchen/common area and a balcony. Much nicer than I deserve! I do have limited internet so I won't be able to be online as much which I think is good, forcing me to go out and do more things outside!
I will put pictures of the apartment a little later once I get some decent shots.

The weather is perfect, a nice sunny 75 degrees with exotic trees and plant life lining the streets. There are palm trees and some really pretty trees with light purple flowers on them that are just breathtaking. I will have to find out what they are called.

Yesterday after arriving, I spent time getting to know my roommates and unpacking, then going out for Thai food with a group of 13 people from the program. Afterwards some people went to a bar, but most of us just headed back, completely beat from the day's travel. I read a little and looked through my New Zealand travel books, excited for the months to come.

Today I did a little grocery shopping, and the cost of everything is much higher here than at home. Oh dear! Afterwards, we went for an exploratory walk around the city, found a nice, slightly more inexpensive Asian market, traversed a big park called the Domain and over to a museum with a beautiful view. Here are a couple shots from the museum steps.

Then down a pathway called Lovers' Lane which felt like you were walking through a jungle. Kevin, the program director here in Auckland recognized some Maori medicinal plants and I tried one of the leaves which made half my mouth numb. "They use this for toothaches", Kevin declared as I chewed. Well that makes sense.

Then back to the apartment where I am now, resting from the day's exertions before our first class tonight at 5pm. Tomorrow we have an all day field trip around Auckland where I believe we are visiting some beaches, sand dunes and doing some hiking. I also noticed the local library is quite close. Good news for me; I plan to check that out very soon. I hope everyone is well at home! Missing you all already, and wishing you could see this with me. I promise to take more pictures in the future!

Until next time,

Malani