Last night we had a meet and greet with our tour group followed by a group dinner. There are 20 people in our group so a very manageable size. No singles in the group. There is a mother/son couple and everyone else besides Nicole and I are married couples. The average age is probably 70. Most are retired and pleasant to visit with.
This morning we went to the Auckland Museum and viewed an impressive collection of artifacts of the Maori people. We saw a Maori Cultural Experience at the museum. Seven talented young locals sang and danced for us. They were fun to watch and their dances told stories.
This afternoon we took a smaller bus on a West Coast Wilderness Experience. We went to the Arataki Centre and enjoyed the panoramic views of the ocean and countryside. We hiked through the rainforest. The guide stopped frequently and pointed out the habitat and named the trees and plants we were seeing. It was really good to get out of the city energy and get out into nature and take a long hike.
I got to see the tea tree bush that the bees eat from to make Manuka honey. Since it is spring here the tea tree bush is starting to bloom.
We then went to see a beautiful tall waterfall. The rainforest gets over 8 feet of rain a year and the waterfall is the run off of all that rain. We went to a black sand beach and watch the waves come crashing in. The waves were an impressive size today. Our last stop was a beautiful view of both the sea and the ocean from atop a hillside. The guides this afternoon were fun and made the day enjoyable.
We got back to our room around 5:30. We rested for a bit and then walked down the street to find dinner. Ended up eating at a Mexican restaurant which was good. Came back to our room. I have a load of laundry washing in the machine across the hall from our room.
We have to have our bags outside our hotel room door by 9:00 tomorrow morning as we will be taken to the airport at 9:45 where we have a two hour flight to fly to Queenstown. After we get checked in at our hotel in Queenstown we will have the rest of the day free to explore.
Nicole and I had commented Sunday that New Zealand reminded us of Japan. There is a zen-like vibe going on here. The locals are very friendly and accepting. Found out today that their population is over 20% Asian now.
The weather was low 60’s today with partly sunny skies. If you don’t like the weather here wait five minutes and it will change. Had very light sprinkles for about one minute today. The wind was brisk in places though. I was glad I had a jacket with me when I got in the wind.
Auckland is by far the largest city in NZ. It has over 1.7 million people. It doesn’t have a big city feel to it though. I have felt very safe out walking around. It feels like it is a young city – I see lots of people in their 20’s and 30’s – not very many my age or older. The cost of living is very high here though. Minimum wage is $16.75 an hour. They have socialized medicine. Property costs are very high as in the average house costs $900,000.
By the way Monday is a very good day! By the time you wake up and start your Monday I will be doing my Tuesday! The timey whimy thing kinda blows my mind a bit.
No nap taken today. Trusting we will both get a good night’s sleep. I got really tired for a bit this afternoon but am doing OK for the most part. Most meals I am finding the right type of food to eat although I struggle to get enough veggies. Doing the best I can – my main goal is to continue to avoid flour and sugar. The rest I have to eat what is available and decided not to worry about it.
Grateful for a hike through the rain forest today and a chance to get out of the city energy for a bit, grateful for the beauty all around me here, and grateful the hotel has a laundry room right across the hall from my room.