LAST BITS OF NEW ZEALAND 2017

(From my phone.)

Pre-surf at Maori Bay. 

New llama friend. 

Dowtown from Te Atatu Peninsula.

Vintage shopping on K Road. 

Street art in Ponsonby. 

Our friends who fed us satay sticks at the Henderson Night Markets every Thursday. 

Auckland Sky Tower at night, from below. 

Man and dog. True love. 

Art on Waiheke Island. 

Glorious Waiheke. 

Mid-run on Waiheke Island. 

Cleaned up for a Waiheke Wedding. 

3/4 of the Stratford Siblings. 

Bexee, Scott and I. Practically an ad for Karen Walker. 

Smokey, watching foolish humans. 

Smokey, one with nature. 

Downtown Auckland. 

Crater on Mount Eden.

Sunset on the Te Atatu Peninsula. 

SURF SPOTS

It can be easy to hang with other backpackers when traveling but if you're going to really experience a new country, it's more fun to find natives to show you around. Many of my outings around Auckland consisted of checking out all the local surf spots with these two charmers. 

Cam + Scott

Te Arai Point

Maori Bay

Piha Beach

Scott would check the surf reports and we'd cruise around in Cam's van, frequenting Te Arai Point, Maori Bay and Piha (I never surfed Piha...Piha would eat me alive. I'd read The Department of Speculation and work on my tan at Piha). 

Cam could always point out the local floral and fauna while Scott showed me how to paddle out the back without "looking like a bloody jelly fish". Eventually, I got the hang of changing into a wetsuit in a parking lot and even grew some surf muscles.