New Zealand
Cooking a "Sandy + Rachel Signature Dish" out the back of the van: omelettes and lettuce-less salad
Truly working remotely.
My van, looking rather rustic from the rocky, dirt roads.
Camping at Ruapuke Beach.
Last view before sleep...
...and first view in the morning.
I like dogs (cats are another story) but I've never really understood people who are suuuper into their dogs. As in they personify their dog, talk about their dog, take their dog everywhere and talk TO their dog in that particular high pitched voice usually reserved for infants and toddlers. I've never understood it. Kind of similar to the way I feel about folks who opt to have standing desks.
This all changed when I met Scott's Dad's dog, Smokey. I officially became one of those people.
Smokey is smarter and more pleasant than a lot of humans out there. He doesn't require a leash, will wait patiently outside a grocery store for you while you shop, loves hanging out in cafes while you work, is an ideal wingman for meeting new people because he's so handsome people just want to pet him AND he does tricks. He's the ideal running and hiking companion, loves to explore the city, always down for a road trip, is incredibly friendly and relaxed, loves the beach and on top of all of that, is wildly photogenic.
He's just a dreamboat. I don't know who I've become. I've never felt this way about a dog before.
Smokey!
Bird that attacked Scott, and rightfully so, because he threw a shell at them.
We took the ferry over to the insanely beautiful Waiheke Island for Christmas to celebrate with Scott's family.
Between eating an extraordinary amount of brie, we beached, hiked and once the sun set, binge watched Master of None. I also finally saw the New Zealand film Boy which is so, so wonderful. Again, put me on a tropical island and I'll still manage to get excited about Netflix.
Full disclosure: this blog is (perpetually) a little behind... so be prepared for Xmas in NZ posts even though it's actually currently March and I'm in Australia. Lots to catch up on!
Here's the start of an Auckland summer:
Smokey. Who you will see many, many more photos of because he came my best bud/photo muse during my time in NZ.
The cat, Slinky, would also come on walks.
This summer was filled with lots of work (mostly from my remote offices: The Ponsonby Library and The Raw Kitchen) but also road trips in my beloved van, beach days at Piha and many runs around my new temporary home: the Te Atatu Peninsula.
It was a good summer. More soon.
After 6 months in New Zealand, it's the time to take a break from the travels (a holiday from my vacation, if you will) and head back stateside to see the fam, reunite with friends and celebrate a few marriages. I'll be exploring the U.S. of A a little bit and then heading overseas again come September, but until then, I'm excited to enjoy a sunny summer in Boston.
THINGS I'LL MISS ABOUT NEW ZEALAND: muesli, runs on the Te Atatu Peninsula followed by brunch at William Souter, the view from my bedroom, power walking around Beach Haven listening to Serial, trampolining with Amanda, Carlos + Archie, The Raw Cafe, white hot chocolates, black sand beaches, rum races, the drive over the Harbor Bridge, listening to Alabama Shakes on the way to surf, campervanning with Sandy, the green countryside, peaceful Aeroview Drive, free blueberry muffins, walking through the Viaduct, the slower pace of life, AM commutes on the Beach Haven ferry, the Pacific Ocean, brunches with Jess, Denise's gossip, feijoas, my van, hello Sunday mornings, long blacks and the way everything just seems easier in NZ.
The most beautiful muesli, at Dear Jervois
Raglan sunset
Unabomber chic
Pretty Piha
Drone flying/cow bothering
Billy Apple exhibit at the Auckland Art Gallery.
Double espresso + Rangitoto from Takapuna.
Sheep. So many sheep.
Feijoa ice cream.
See you later New Zealand, you tiny beautiful country.
A surf board purchase called for a road trip to Rotorua (to pick it up!) and a surf trip in Raglan.
Misty Rotorua.
Rotorua Market gems.
While perusing the markets, a stranger asked Scott to take her dog, "Prince Albert" on a walk while she manned her table. This is the kind of thing that happens in New Zealand.
Where we woke up on Day 3.
View from my van.
Note the tiny specks of surfers.
My NZ Work + Holiday Visa was put to good use again when I got a gig working with MTV! A new show called The Shannara Chronicles was being filmed in Auckland and I got a 6 week contract as a Production Manager working on behind the scenes footage. While the 12-16 hour days were completely exhausting, I learned an incredible amount. In-between fangirling over John Rhys-Davies and James Remar, I was in absolute awe of the sheer size of the production and felt super lucky to get this kind of job while traveling (especially since I was seriously considering selling strawberries at farmers markets when I first arrived in NZ).
Denise and I after a hike in Russell.
Denise (a Producer from NYC) flew over and we teamed up to create the behind the scenes content, hiring an Assistant Editor and local ENG crews to shadow the main unit and set up our own shoots .
Denise is an absolute force of life whose perfectionist work ethic is only rivaled by her insatiable energy. Despite being polar opposites in many ways, we made quite a good team and I learned so much from her just through osmosis.
Highlights of the job include:
-John Rhys Davies calling our audio guy a "little shit" in the most endearing, grandfatherly way
-Me being completely unphased by the young hunky actors working out but getting so star struck that I walked into the shot when James Remar entered the gym
-Denise tearing up Auckland every weekend and coming in Monday morning with the juiciest gossip
-the catering. All those "oh my god the craft services table makes me fat" interviews with actresses is the actual honest truth.
-working with the same crews that worked on The Hobbit + Lord of the Rings (still haven't seen it, but you know)
-James Remar referring to me as "Boston" after learning where I'm from (he's from Newton!) and having to use every ounce of restraint in my body to refrain from asking him to say "dark passenger" in his Dexter voice
It KILLS me that I can't share the photos I took on set (pesky non-disclosure agreements) but after we wrapped, Denise and I headed up to the Bay of Islands for a celebratory road-trip. Here's a few photos if you'd like to see...
Commute.
Menu board at the heavenly William Souter Cafe.
Homemade poached eggs with beet root and chutney (very New Zealand)
DIY Wetsuit repair.
NZ is a country best experienced via road trip, so Jess and I packed up my camper van (a converted mini-van I bought for $2,600 at a car fair --- you've never seen someone so excited to drive off in what looks like a practical car for a family of 8) and headed to The Coromandel Peninsula.
We (attempted) to dig holes at Hot Water Beach (harder than it sounds), camped at Hahei Beach, hiked to Cathedral Cove and drove along pretty Thames Coast Road, taking in the rolling hills and rugged cliffs. It was a lovely little road trip.
Partly because she didn't fully understand where New Zealand is located, but mostly because she's a fantastic friend... Jessica came all the way over from Boston to visit, for just one week!
Jess on the bus. She hates public transportation, so this was notable.
Brunch at the Piha Cafe
Jessica is my former roommate, eternal birthday partner and has been my best friend since we were 13 years old. She's the vital kind of friend who despite time or distance, whenever I see her we're right back into giggling like we did in 7th grade English class. It was wonderful to get to do that with her all over the North Island of New Zealand.
Once living out of a van while working full-time became an impractical idea (due to pesky considerations like where to park, where to shower, blah blah blah) and it was clear that hostel living in the city wasn't any cheaper than renting a place... I searched for a place to call home in Auckland.
I scourged TradeMe (their version of Craig's List) for a few weeks and checked out half a dozen places before finding a listing in Beach Haven that looked too good to be true. Right on the water with a gorgeous deck and pool, it looked like a house off of a 90's season of The Real World. Half expecting it to be a scam, I was intrigued when I got an email reply from a guy that wasn't a Nigerian Prince asking for my bank account details... but a Kiwi who said to come by and take a look at the place. Turns out, it was even better than the photos. AND for less than I ever paid in Boston! I moved in the following week.
See that pointy house that could pass as a hobbit resort? That's my house. YUP. This was taken from the Beach Haven ferry.
View from my bedroom.
While I'd love to give a full house tour a la Design Sponge, that would be cheating as I didn't actually contribute anything to the decor of the place. Owning only what fit in my backpack in the previous five months, I was psyched it was fully furnished. It had such an airy and clean feel to it, I didn't try to impose my own aesthetic (lots of patterns! too many colors!) onto the existing look so living here was a nice continuation of minimalist living but with my own room and SUPER SICK VIEWS.
Violet sunsets make for a nice view while washing the dishes.
Beach Haven itself is a sleepy neighborhood that feels like Cape Cod in the off-season. It smells like summer but is super quiet. There's no traffic, the funny mix of shops are low-rise and the sunsets are spectacular. As soon as I arrive at home, it feels like I'm on vacation.
From the Beach Haven ferry dock.
Ferry ride back from the city.
Before I bought a van (dreams do come true! But more on that later) I took the ferry to work every morning which is THE ideal way to commute. I'll admit it, I was smug as hell thinking about how last year at that time I was digging out my car from mounds of snow in JP, snow soaking through my boots.
This wall is hidden off the main road and is actually in no way reflective of what the rest of Beach Haven looks like. But I like it.
Uniformed school kids at the Beach Haven bus stop.
Lazy Sunday around the neighborhood.
Living in Beach Haven has been pretty dreamy and very different from anywhere else. I think that's the been the best part of long-term travel for me, having these little micro-lives in each new location. Each spot brings a new lifestyle and new habits. You begin to notice what you keep consistent and patterns emerge, illustrating what's genuinely important to you. It's a risk leaving all the routines and comforts of home when you've worked hard to establish them for yourself. But it's pretty interesting to see what kind of life you can cobble together, when you start from scratch in a new place. I'm beyond thrilled my current one includes an ocean view.
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.
Note the Drone flying above the synchronized swimmers (!)
Early morning sausages out the back of the van.
A bunch of us from work got free tickets to the Splore Music and Arts festival and had a solid weekend of camping, sausage sizzles, art exhibitions and live music (The Cat Empire was my favorite) in Tapapakanga Park.
Downtown Auckland (and Devonport in front) from Rangitoto.
Windy day at Bethells Beach.
Record selection at Conch.
Lava caves, Rangitoto.
Locals.
