A visit back to Aotearoa New Zealand

 In April, we traveled to Aotearoa New Zealand together for the first time since leaving in July 2018. Covid (friends) and the new e-visa process (us) nearly disrupted our plans, but everything came together at the last possible moment. Deplaning in Auckland was so familiar that it felt like a coming home of sorts. I've felt that way for years when arriving there; Pete felt it, too, this time. 

The line for customs was longer than I've ever seen, and it took us over an hour to get through. We grabbed as many covid tests as allowed on our way through, bought a couple of SIM cards, and pushed our luggage trolley over to the domestic terminal to recheck our bags. We still had a bit of time before our next flight and we were getting a bit hungry, so we walked back to the international terminal where we had seen two of our favorite foods from NZ - Peckish crackers and peppermint dark chocolate. The US dollar is strong at the moment, so we were not for a second daunted by the inflated airport prices.

Snacks in hand, we walked back to the domestic terminal for our flight to Nelson (by way of Christchurch). Our friend Robyn and her doggos (Tui and Kea) met us at the airport and took us to the beach so we could stretch our legs after a long day of flying. After a stop at the supermarket to pick up more Peckish, chocolate, and other NZ favorites, we headed up to Robyn's place where we were staying for a week.

Robyn's place is pretty magical - a lovely spot up in the hills with dogs, horses, and chickens to keep everyone company. I helped Robyn paint in December 2018 as she was putting the finishing touches on the house. It was fun to come back five years later to see it fully finished. Robyn's house essentially sits inside the horse paddock, so all six of the horses are able to come right up to the deck that surrounds the house. On the kitchen side they are able to put their heads through the door, and do often, for a cuddle or a treat. 

Brownie loved cuddles
(he died shortly after we visited)

Tui getting some love from Pete

Huntsman, Brownie's brother, and the view across the valley
(Huntsman also recently died...very sad times)

Horses and chickens looking for a treat

Kea snuggled in for the night

Our friend Stacie drove up from Christchurch with her two boys, which made for a weekend of many adventures. Biking and hiking in the Hacket, a mountain bike park in Kaiteriteri, and a bike ride and ferry to the Easter market in Māpua. While Stacie and the boys were visiting another friend, we enlisted the neighbor to help clear out some downed trees at the edge of the horse paddock. Pete kept himself occupied most days in Robyn's shed, organizing many boxes of tools from Robyn's dad. Pete got up every morning and headed out to the shed with a cup of tea and a couple squares of chocolate. He even got a fantail (bird) to land on his finger one morning, fulfilling a long-standing bucket list item.   

fantail (not the actual one that landed on Pete's finger)

Stacie, me, and Robyn - friends for more than half my life!

After the long Easter weekend, Stacie went back to Christchurch and Robyn went back to work. We still had a few days in Nelson so we ranged out a bit. We took a day trip to Blenheim to see some of our old Auckland Council workmates who have all moved to the South Island over the last few years. Emma and Courtney had just come out of quarantine after a bout with covid and were still recovering. We were able to eat lunch and go for a walk before they were exhausted. It was so good to see all of them.  

Pete, Emma, Melissa, and Courtney (and Patrick the doggo)

Our last major outing from Robyn's place was to Nelson Lakes National Park, one of the three national parks within the Nelson Region. This spot has been on my list for many, many years so I was excited that we had an opportunity to fit it into our trip this time, even if we only scratched the surface of what there is to see. After dropping Robyn off at work, we drove just over an hour to St Arnaud, the main gateway to the park. From there we admired the view of the mountains surrounding Lake Rotoiti from the pier that is home to many, many tuna (freshwater eels) that are seemingly fed by irresponsible visitors based on the number congregated there. The sandflies were abundant and out for Pete's blood, so we quickly headed for the forest hoping for some relief. We walked a really nice loop track on the east side of Rotoiti that climbed through lovely beech forest before coming back down to the lake for the trek back. The day was overcast and cool, but the rain stayed away for the duration. 

Too soon it was time to say farewell to Robyn and the animals and head to the North Island for the last few days of our trip. We flew to Auckland and hopped on the train at the new station just a few minutes from the airport. This is a new addition since we lived there and is fabulous. The train took us all the way to downtown Auckland, just a few minutes walk from our hotel. We still had our transit cards so all was smooth. We had two goals in Auckland - check on our bank accounts and visit our old neighborhood. We ticked the first one off within an hour of arriving and were able to update our contact info, something we had been unable to do online. We then got an amazing travel bonus - lunch with Jen, Grant, and kiddos. I met Jen at Oregon State before she met Grant and moved to NZ. They left Auckland a couple months before we did, but were back for a visit and just happened to be flying out early the next morning. We couldn't have planned that better!

We took a very long and winding route to our old neighborhood, Mount Albert, the next day. After breakfast at the market, we headed to the Domaine for a walk in the native bush and wintergarden. From there we headed to one of our favorite restaurants, Mekong Baby, for a delicious lunch. Once we got to our neighborhood, we walked up our volcano (Ōwairaka), checked on our old apartment, and had an early dinner at our regular burger joint. Being in our neighborhood brought back a lot of good memories. A few places had closed during the pandemic, but it was mostly still very familiar and unchanged. 

fabulous tree in the Domaine

looking back towards the city center from Ōwairaka, our mountain

The following morning we hired a car and drove north from Auckland. Our destination was along the west coast of Northland, near the Waipoua Forest. Trounson Kauri Park is one of Pete's all-time favorite nature walks. We visited multiple times while we lived in NZ; it was also the site of our very lucky kiwi sighting. We arrived at the small, 586-hectare patch of forest around 3 pm and were the only car in the parking lot. Trounson is often overlooked in favor of the more famous kauri trees in Waipoua Forest. The Department of Conservation provides time estimates for most DOC hikes; the Trounson loop was given a time of 40 minutes. It took us 2.5 hours to complete an out and back version of the hike! It is such a beautiful forest that we often sat along the trail for long stretches taking in the sounds and smells. No kiwis this time, but there were some very majestic kererū/kūkupa (wood pigeons). We went back to the forest the next morning for another out and back (only 2 hours that time) before stopping at one of Pete's favorite stores - Nelson's Kauri. We didn't have a shipping container this time, so he settled for a small piece of salvage kauri, which he turned into left-handed spatulas when we got home. He has nearly used up all his NZ wood that came back with us in 2018 and would love to have another container filled with rimu delivered to our house.

majestic wood pigeon

the entire walk is on boardwalk - the kauri roots are
shallow and very sensitive to trampling

We spent the last full day of our trip in Warkworth (aka Brokenwood for any murder mystery fans). We explored a not well traveled trail above town and then reminisced about our Auckland Council work as we walked along the Mahurangi River and Estuary. We spend our final morning at Tāwharanui Regional Park, a predator free mainland "island" that has great birding and beautiful vistas. The population of many endemic birds in ANZ were hit hard when predators were introduced in the 1800s. Most of the birds evolved without predators and many are flightless. The Department of Conservation has established multiple bird sanctuaries around the country in an attempt to give these birds a fighting chance. Because predators, mainly stoats, weasels, and cats are difficult to keep out, mainland sanctuaries are rare. The Tīkapa Moana/Hauraki Gulf provides a natural barrier on one side of Tāwharanui, making it a slightly easier place to maintain. This was also a favorite place of ours that we often explored with visitors.

Mahurangi River

slightly intimidating nursery web spider

the ever adorable pūkeko

whitehead/pōpokotea

saddleback/tīeke - an endemic that is increasing
where predators are absent

rare pāteke/brown teal

As we made our way back to Auckland, we stocked up on Whittaker's chocolate (12 pounds) and Peckish crackers (8 boxes) that we are slowly doling out to ourselves. It was really wonderful to be back, and I am already looking forward to our next trip.