Abe and Erin’s travels

Erin writing: Sunday was a pretty cool day. We decided that everyone needed to find their respective hospitals and that we would go to the zoo. Luckily, everything is within walking distance so we headed out! The zoo was pretty fun. The enclosures are much greener, bigger, and the animals seemed happier. This zoo is pretty cool because a person can pay to feed the red pandas (with the zoo keeper, of course, in the actual enclosure with the pandas crawling all over you!), can feed other animals from a sitting area while the zoo keeper talks about the animals (like a giraffe), and can book a sleepover in the Zoo!! Here are some photos –

After the zoo, we headed off to find the hospitals. We found Abe’s hospital nestled in a neighborhood. It is the only private hospital in Wellington and only houses 60 beds. It looks more like a hotel than a hospital and does not stand out against the skyline like other hospitals within Wellington. After finding Carrie and Rashmi’s hospital, we headed home, prepared a meal and watched a movie!!

Erin writing –

Abe and I went into the Windy City today (Wellington) to spend time alone. We started along the Parade and waved down a taxi. Before we got the taxi, we came upon a street sign that we usually do not see in the states.
Upon entering the City, we went straight for food (surprise, surprise!). We picked the Wellington Trawling Fish Market on Cuba St. This market uses fish caught that day in their lunch and dinner specials and it was superb. Some locals started talking to us after they saw me thumbing through the Lonely Planet (our N.Z. bible!). They were very nice and also very curious about our travels here thus far. They were in town, from Napier, to see a, sorry, THE, rugby game. It turns out, everyone here is a die-hard fan and they will travel from most places to see the game. We were going to try to get tickets but they were sold out due to the popularity. After we ate, we stopped by Roger’s Tattoo gallery. Abe asked a lot of questions about Maori tattoos (we shouldn’t be surprised if he comes back tattooed). As he was asking questions, I watched people getting tattoos and as my eyes surveyed my surroundings, they settled upon a picture, set in the tattoo shop, of Elijah Wood and another hobbit from LOTHR! It turns out that a lot of the cast got “ink” at this shop during their stay in N.Z.! I think that it gives the place credibility but Abe is still thinking about it! We then went to the Wellington Museum and spent a couple of hours there. They had alot about earthquakes and other natural
disasters that New Zealand has encountered – it was very interesting. We are planning to go back to see the floor about the Maori people. We did sit in a cool presentation about the Maori people. Here are some photos of that exhibit – Hope they come out! Neat thing was – the admission was free! We ended the night by going to Shed 5 for some dinner. Unfortunately we had no reservations and they were completely booked up because of the Rugby game. So, we had some beer and some bar food – not too bad.

Erin writing –

We decided to go into the city on Friday.  We had several chores to do – get a landline hooked up and get to an information booth for a map.  I do have to say – it is very interesting to walk around a city without a map with a specific location in mind.  The Kiwis were, and continue to be, very nice and very helpful.  However, they did not always have the name of the streets.  So, directions were like this, ” Go down there, turn left, take another left, and then turn right.”  Add the Kiwi accent (which makes everything sound proper and good) and you have our directions.  Given that maps are very important to the Raits, I had a very difficult time wandering the city in this fashion.  However, we made it. 

We walked into the city via a tunnel, which was very loud.  On the way into the harbour, we happened upon the new car lots – specifically HOnda, Toyota, and Mazda.  The cars here are smalled than in the US and look very cool.  A bit on conservation – The Kiwis are very into conservation, as evidenced by the toilet buttons, the on/off switches for the outlets, and the small cars that they import.  Recycling is big out here and was one of the first things our landlord told us about.  Portion sizes are small, consistently sized in the kid’s to small portion sizes.  Their largest coffee is typically a small-medium size coffee at Starbucks.  Everyone runs, bikes, and exercises in general here.  BAck to the day…

We found an Indian food restaurant and ate there for lunch.  We got our phone hooked up (not as smooth as in the US) and got a map.  It turns out it takes several days for the phone hookup to finalize due to the credit check.  When we have one, I will post it. 

We took the scenic route back.  This took us along Oriental Bay Parade and Evans Bay Parade.  This was an 8km walk back to the house and one that was very worth the walk!  We took this walk at sunset, getting to see the water, the kayaker’s, and the boats.  Absolutely amazing!

We got home and cooked ourselves some BLT’s that were awesome!  More adventures tomorrow! 

Erin writing:  Well, I don’t think I am as poetic, or as funny as Abe when he writes his blogs but I will do my best!!! 

Thursday morning started off extremely early as I was patiently waiting for a call from the States.  I decided to interview for a job that I applied for and the interview panel was nice enough to offer to call me.  Unfortunately, there was a tiny mixup and the cell number I gave did not work when calling internationally.  So, I called them and we rescheduled the call to occur when I got off the plane in Wellington.  So, yes, I interviewed- I stood in the baggage claim at the Wellington Airport!  A completely different interview experience – I would highly recommend it!

After the interview, we jaunted (about 5 minutes) to the house we rented on Evans Bay.  We met Julie, our temporary landlord, for a tour of the house.  She gave us keys (surprise!) and left us to our own devices!  

The house is very nice – 5 beds, 2baths – and looks out onto Evans Bay!.  The construction is a tad bit different, with power switches at every outlet to – get this – turn on the outlet!  They also don’t have fans in their bathrooms – which, if you know Abe, you know we need one.   

We got settled and then walked (which we are doing quite a bit of!) down to the grocery store to buy sheets, groceries, and get money.  Fortunately, we were able to do all this shopping in one place (Woolworth’s) and hailed a Taxi to carry back our stuff.  Unfortunately, at least for Carrie and I, we could not find a supply of our aloe drinks.  I don’t know if I have mentioned this before but I have to say this is my all time favorite drink.  My understanding is that it comes from the aloe plant.  VERY TASTY!  After we returned, for the first time since arriving in New Zealand, we made a meal for ourselves.  It felt very nice to do this.  Our first self-prepared meal was scrambled eggs with mushrooms, cheese, and roasted red peppers!

We were beat from all the travelling so…..we turned in. 

Abe posting:

Our last offical day in Auckland.  Erin and I went on a mad hunt for stone necklaces.  We had to run 2 miles up to the museum to get the best style for her.  Carrie was kind enough to go back to the meuseum with Erin and give the “girl/female” persepctive… I guess that my opinion doesne’t hold much weight unless I take a long time to form it.

After stuff was purchased we reconnected with the Dunns and made our way to the Sky tower to meet up with Amit, Rashmi, Greg, and Jeremy. 

Carrrie, Christrian, Erin, and I stopped off at the Occidental for some tastey beers.  I had the massive “dong” with mashed potatoes!

  Nice thumbs up by Christrian!

On the way to the dinner we were cought up by this random farris wheel that we took photos of.

    We had to split fast because Carrie set off the alarm by crossing the magical barrier – he he.

Here are some shots out of the sky tower and some shots through the see through glass – pretty cool.

Rashmi convinced Amitt to jump on the glass with her:

Kristin and Jen met up with us for a couple of minutes for a mini pharmacy reunion:

We then made our way to the Loaded Hog and enjoyed some more tasty beers…Greg and Carrie splurged and bought the “beer experience.”  Basically you take a bunch of beer to your table and pour your own. 

  It was pretty funny: the guy in this picture was completely wasted – he followed Greg from the bar and proceeded to tell us how to drink the beer from this giant bong, “HIT IT!” he kept saying while trying to stay standing.  We were all cracking up.  He then grabbed Greg and held him in a very long manly embrace – Look at the fear in Greg’s eyes:

  We kind of ignored the drunk guy and made our way to minus 5.

   ……it was COOOL!  They built this bar out of ice (just like the sculptures in the Dallas exhibit, Steve and Brenda).  They serve drinks out of ice glasses (this can be tricky, Christian sprung a leak in his and had to drink real fast – poor guy).  We hung out for about 25min and shot photos – and cooled off.

Thursday was another travel day for us – Next stop Wellington.

Erin writing – Today we went to Devonport.  It is a quaint town that is located on a peninsula.  It takes about 12 minutes to get there, of course, by ferry.  We bought a tour of the peninsula which was very nice because our guide told us all about the history of the town.  They have two inactive volcanoes that we climbed up and took pictures as well as additional guns to protect themselves.  We had lunch at Manuka – an awesome restaurant with great pizza and huge green lipped mussels.  Windows were open on all sides, allowing us to enjoy the breeze.  We got some chocolate from a local store and went to a vegetable and fruit market.  Thus far, my favorite drink is an all natural ALOE drink.  This sounds very strange but it is sweet and tasty!  We went back on the ferry and went to the viaduct and had dinner at a place called degree.  Abe and I had mussels again and also ordered lamb kabobs!  They were great, the company was great, and the views of the harbor were fantastic!

Erin Writing – Monday was fun.  I made Abe go running for 1:45minutes.  While he was complaining before we went, he says he was happy that he had run because of the cool things he saw (my plan all along!).  We ran to a suburb of Auckland called Ponsonby, a quaint, trendy place.  I do have to say we thought we would be champs at running given we are coming from altitude to sea level.  However, we were wrong.  The hills here are astounding and they are everywhere!!!  After our run, we checked out of the Crowne Plaze into a backpacker.  We got a room with our own bathroom (yeah!) and settled in.  This backpacker is cool.  They provide breakfast, internet service for $8.00NZ/hour, and linens.  It is located in the heart of downtown and is across from a cool park! After we unpacked, we went to a sushi place that rocked!!  Unbeknownst to us, the restaurant closed at 3p and we got there at 2:30pm.  When we gave our waitress a 25% tip, she was shocked and excited!!!  What we did not know is that it is highly unusual for people to tip here.  After this, we went to a pub, had dessert and a beer, and then went back to the backpacker to read and relax.

Erin writing – We took a ferry to Waiheke Island.  It took about 35 minutes, was overcast and raining, and was beautiful!  It turns out that some N.Z.er’s live on other islands, or peninsulas, and commute to Auckland to work.  Once we arrived, we “hired” a car(a stick shift) and took turns driving.  Christian was a pro, Carrie burned the clutch when attempting to reverse, and I almost hit the right back side of a car pulling away from the left shoulder!  Abe decided not to drive because he had more faith in us driving than he did himself (I am not sure why but ok!).  We drove the perimeter of the island, which was supposed to take 1.5 hours.  However, that time does not include the vast number of times we stopped to take pictures!  We ate lunch at Oneroa Fish and chips, where you can choose the kind of fish you want fried.  This was the best fish and chips any of us have ever had!  Then, we did a wine tasting at Stonyridge winery and had a great conversation with the wine guy there.  Last thing before I post some pictures – It is incredibly green here and the people are so nice!!! Also, the whole country believes that conserving is very important.  This includes the water in the toilet.  As a result, they have a flushing system that includes two buttons – one with a line through it for a half flush (fluids) and one as a whole button (for solids). 

As mentioned earlier – the flight was pretty uneventful – Erin took up our row of 3 seats:

Which was ok because I got to hang with Carrie and Christrian

We arrived at 4:15, – us at the airport

We were lucky and got an early check in at the hotel and got a couple hours of zzz after eating a great bfast at the hotel lobby – then we went on a walking tour of Auckland – only got lost 2-3 times

Here are some photos of our adventure – the parks in Auckland are amazing!

We made it to the wartime meuseum and were welcomed by the Maroari performers.

Audence participation as well! (Abe and Christrian)

Here are some shots of down town, we found a market that was pretty quaint – some dude tryed to preach to me, Erin and I had a moussle fritata.

We made it!  The trip was very pleasant – Erin only lost it (due to a absolute fear of flying) 2-3 times.  We are pretty tired so we will post more details tomorrow!