Direction of Our Hearts

I’m on a Boat

Riding a boat in New Zealand is something we all knew we wanted to do before we had even arrived in the country. We had seen tons of photos and videos of whales and dolphin’s showing off in the sea and people in awe of the beauty. So when we booked our airbnb in Cooks Beach right next to the water we knew this was the place to make this dream come true. We started really looking at all the different options while we were still in Auckland and found all sorts of amazing opportunities out there to purchase and make your boat dreams come true. Just about anything you can think of from glass bottoms boats, boats that promise that 90% of the time you will see a dolphin 100% of the time, and boats that take you on fast adrenaline rides of your life. They all sounded so amazing!!! There was however one problem…they cost a fortune when paying for a family of four. We went back and forth about weather or not to go ahead and book something and make compromises elsewhere in our lives to adjust for the cost.

Can we eat ramen for dinner several times during the month in order to pay for this? Not eat out for an entire month? Not drink wine for the month-hahaha. UGH!!! My families health versus my families enjoyment which do we pick? Eating eggs and potatoes for breakfast everyday for a week versus eating a variety of fresh fruits, yogurts, and pancakes is ok right? Ramen for dinner instead of chicken, veggies, and rice isn’t that unhealthy is it? I’m willing to not eat out in order to save money to do other things but surviving on a diet or ramen, eggs, and potatoes is something I just can not do. So we decided to wait, to think about it, and to try and fine some ways to make some extra cash. I opened an etsy shop and put some of my travel photos up for sale. Sean would keep working on his book and if things panned out we would be rich in no time. However in the meantime we planned on not eating out much in order to save some money to try and make this boat thing happen (this did not actually happen we ate out a lot more then we would like to admit while in Auckland).

Ok, we made it to Cooks Beach now its time to get real. How are we going to make this happen? I started looking for coupons and deals online from websites like groupon, bookme, and other random sites. In an attempt to save my family money and take them on an adventure of a lifetime I probably gave my computer a virus and may have end up costing us money. Whoops, oh well worry about that latter is what I say. When we got to Cooks Beach we were so very lucky in that our airbnb host had bikes, kayaks, and a boat and said we were welcome to use the bikes and the kayaks free of charge anytime and he even said he could take us out on his boat sometime if we wanted!!! WHAT!!! How awesome is that!!! We were so excited. So when the day came to go out on the water we were all super pumped. It didn’t have a fancy glass bottom but it had something better-John (our airbnb host and now our friend). He told us all about the Islands we rode past and how they had filmed movies in some of the locations we saw, like The Chronicles or Narnia. He even told us about the time a shark trailed him in the waters and stole his days worth of fishing. He has had such an interesting life and we really enjoy spending time with him and hearing not only about the interesting things about New Zealand but also learning more about him and hearing all the crazy things he has done or been through. We hope someday we can be as cool as him and have some pretty amazing stories to tell. In some ways I feel like we are doing that now.

Traveling really does open up your eyes to such a big world. You get to met so many interesting people and hear such different stories. You know that saying “traveling leaves you speechless then turns you into a storysteller” by Ibn Battuta I think it really is true. Our boating adventure didn’t involve any sharks thank goodness but it did involve fish and what we thought was going to be our first boat ride in NZ also turned into our first snorkling experience, but it probably isn’t what you are picturing in your head. First of all we did not have swim suits on so we weren’t actually submerged/swimming in the water and we didn’t see a huge variety of colorful fish. It involved us hanging off the side of Johns boat with a face mask on getting close and personal with some delicious snapper. It was probably one of the silliest and funniest things I’ve ever done.

We rode around Mercury Bay and saw lots of different sacred islands, Cathedral Cove, and beyond. We even saw some stingrays along the way. This would not be the first time we saw stingrays while enjoying the waters of Mercury Bay. We had been to Cathedral Cove several times and had even swam in the waters there but it was so interesting seeing it from a different perspective. We saw people hanging out on the beach, taking photos in the cave, and even people out kayaking. This is also were we saw them, jumping up out of the water big huge dolphins! Just kidding, we didn’t see dolphins.  Instead we saw a huge school of extremely large snapper!!!

We had turned the boat off and were just hanging out enjoying the view so when we saw them, so of course we all immediately leaned over and looked in the water, and sure enough there they were loads of enormous snapper. John was prepared, he had snorkel gear ready to go. He didn’t hesitate and quickly asked Mireya to hand over the gear, to be honest I wasn’t sure what was about to happen. Was he about to jump off the boat fully clothed into the water and grab some of these fish for dinner? I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it weren’t a reserve however he just put on the mask and held onto the boat and dipped his head in the water as we stood in amazement watching him. He came back up and was like yep! There are some huge snapper in there. Check it out! Before any of us could say anything Gaby was like ME! I’m next!!! So we proceeded to put the mask on her tiny face and dangle our six year old off the side of Johns boat. However a couple inches from the water she started to freak out a bit and had us pull her back up. She took the mask off and handed it to me.

So I said “looks like I’m next”, I bend over the side of the boat, took hold of the handle, and dunked my face in. To be honest at first I was a little freaked out. They were right there!! In my face and they were big! I mean really big at least a good 3 feet long *I may be exaggerating a tiny bit. However when they saw my face and realized I was not food they backed up a bit and just swam there letting me admire them. They weren’t colorful tiny little fish like you see in films like Finding Nemo but still in their own way they were beautiful. I watched them for a while in awe then a little voice inside my head reminded me of the story John had just told us about the shark and I started getting a bit freaked out again and decided my time was up. We proceeded to take turns and Gaby even decided to not only give it another try but wanted to keep doing it over and over again.

We then proceeded to head back to Cooks beach with water soaked hair, salty lips, smiles on our faces, and a new story to tell.

Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill

This adventure would give us our first very first encounter with New Zealand sheep and it inspired us so much we decided we wanted to try and be sheep ourselves by climbing up one of the steep green hills up to the memorial rather then take the paved path. More on that shortly. Lets talk about how we got here. One of our favorite ways to find things to do in a new city is by talking to the locals and this was one place we were told to visit by several kiwis while adventuring. Including a nice lady we meet on the bus who gave us several tips and suggestions on places to go as well as our  awesome Airbnb host. So we knew this was a place we needed to check out.

So what is it? It is a 597 ft tall volcanic peak in Auckland that also has two parks – One Tree Hill and Cornwall Park which together form a total of 540 acres of public green space. It has lots of beautiful mature trees, animals, flowers, amazing 360 views from the top of the summit, as well as a historic cottage, a cafe, and an ice cream shop. The first thing we saw as we started our hike up towards the summit were cows not many people just lots of cows. We thought for a second that we must have picked a good day as we had read about the crowds. However, a bit further down the path we started to see the groups of people as well as a big area of land covered in cherry blossom trees. It was beautiful. There were tons of people stopped here taking photos, having picnics, and even what appeared to be professional photography sessions. We admired the trees for a while and took a couple photos then proceeded on our way to the top.

All of a sudden we heard them. YES!!! We had been waiting to see these little guys and we were not disappointed. They were EVERYWHERE!!! Big ones, small ones, old ones, new ones, red ones, blue ones, ok not red or blue but there really were so so many. It was awesome and the sounds they make are a combination of funny and cute. The first ones we saw were behind a fence so we just admired them from afar. Lots of fences here in New Zealand are electric fences so be careful! We didn’t have a Jurassic Park moment or anything like that we are just cautious when it comes to others people property. Most of them will have a sign somewhere that says electric fence but they aren’t always super visible so just be safe. As we continued on our way we noticed several different paths leading up to the summit on the hills not just the paved sidewalk leading up next to the street. Sean and Gaby being the most adventurous ones of us all decided they wanted to go up one of these dirt paths. Mireya and I decided to continue on the paved path and made it a race between us to see who could get to the top first.

Mireya and I continued on the path and soon saw more sheep. Just walking around not inside of any kind of gate or anything. There were two adults and four babies. We wanted to try and pet them but they scampered off as soon as we got close. We admired them for a minuet then continued on our way and soon reached a big hill that had sheep all over it. We had to go and check it out closer. It was like an image out of a fairy tell. It really did feel magical somehow. All these sweet little fluffy sheep just hanging out on the steep cliffs of this open area. We could now see the summit and started to wonder if Gaby and Sean had already made it to the top but we did not see them. We also started to wonder if they had the right idea by climbing up the sides of the summit rather then take the paved path. I mean this seemed like a lot more fun. We talked to a couple who was walking around and asked if they knew if it was ok to climb up the hills to the top of the summit and they said “yes you go either way the question is do you think you can do it not can you do it”. I took this as a challenge, yeah we can do this! It’s not that steep, is it? I also really wanted to beat Sean and Gaby because I’m extremely competitive. So up we went.

A short while into the walk up the hill we realized just how steep it really was. It may not look it in the photos but it was extremely steep. How in the world do sheep do this?! This is insane!!! Mireya even question me on weather I thought this was actually a good idea. Of coarse this is a good idea! We are strong, this will help us win the race, what the hell have I gotten us into. The sheep had done it so I was sure we can do it too. So we proceeded up the hill and it was tough! It felt like we were walking sideways up a building in some spots. However , it was too late to back out now. I was gonna show that guy who said “the question is can you do it”! So up up up we go. We finally made it to the top and I seriously felt like Rocky!! We then found ourselves at a gate. At first I thought oh crap! We are about to have to go back down this hill and I even thought for a moment about just rolling down it. That would probably be so much faster and easier as well as probably somewhat less dangerous then trying to walk down we would just be covered in sheep poop. Luckily as I stood there pondering this idea and picturing Mireya and I rolling down this hill and taking out sheep along the way, I see Sean and Gaby coming down a turn on the path that we could see off to the side of where the gate was. Yes…they beat us. They had already been to the top and came back down to find us because we were taking too long.

Sean and Gaby came over to the fence and just let themselves in then proceeded to tell us they won. I was happy to know that we would not have to walk back down this hill and was excited to see the top of the summit. We continued along the path less taken by going through a few fences and we could see that lots of people take these paths. I’m still not 100% certain it is allowed but we did see several people on these paths and they all said it was ok. You just have to be sure to close the gate behind you so that the animals do not get out. We saw some awesome things along the that we would have missed if we had just taken the sidewalk. Here are just a few of the things we saw;  a bench that overlooked the hill we just hiked up, someone had made a sign at the bottom of one of the other hills proposing to their love, as well as amazing views of the sea and city.

We made it to the top and we were happy and proud of ourselves that we did it. However the top of the summit was not the best part of this trip for us. It was the fun we had pretending to be sheep.

One of our favorite things to do in Oklahoma in October was go to pumpkin patches/farms. We enjoyed it so much we actually had Gabriela’s first birthday party at a pumpkin patch and it was so fun! It was really a big tradition for our family to do this every year and we wanted to try and keep some of our traditions alive while traveling. However, because it is Spring in New Zealand in October finding a pumpkin patch – let alone pumpkins was impossible. We did however find several farms and after a little research we found one that seemed to have everything we were looking for including; pony rides, nursery animals you could pet, a maze, and tractor rides. It cost $18 for adults, and $15 for children aged 5-14. You can also get a family pass for any five people for $70. This price includes everything inside the farm from horses/ponies rides, the tractor ride, and one container of feed per person. Another reason we chose this farm was that it was close to another location we wanted to visit so we decided to make a day trip out of it and go to both. For more information and specific times check out their website here.

A short 30 min ride later we arrived at the farm. The first thing you do is wash your hands before you go in so you don’t get the animals sick and then you head back to the petting area where you can hold and pet bunnies, mice, and guinea pigs. You then head back to the nursery animals and get to see calves, baby lamas, and more. They all seemed very happy and well taken care of do however watch out for the lamas they have spit. You then start working your way through the farm and have your choice of which way you want to go. We chose a tractor ride next. We found the driver to be super friendly, knowledgeable, and energetic. He told us lots of information about the farm as well as some of the animals and their names as we passed them by. We then proceeded to walk through the rest of the farm where we saw a peacock, lots of birds, goats, sheep, donkeys, lamas and more. There really are some interesting, funny, and sweet animals on this farm. There was one donkey in particular that was the sweetest little guy. He let us pet him and even leaned on my husband Sean for a hug.

The pigs in the pig pen are hilarious!!! They have bangs that made me seriously laugh out loud. At first I was worried when I saw them laying there in the mud with their tongues sticking out but then I saw his belly move up and down as he snored. It was like seeing the pigs on angry birds in real life. It was so fun watching all the animals come and go especially the roasters. We also enjoyed watching the different personalities of the animals on the farm as well as the children’s and parents excitement. I mean seriously look at this pig!!! I might have to make this pig into some kind of meme he is just the funniest.

We took a break at the sandpit/playground and had our lunch. You can bring your own lunch or eat at the cafe located next door to the farm. We are on a tight budget so we made sure to pack our lunch as well as lots of snacks and water. They have picnic tables in the farm for you to sit and enjoy your lunch near the play area, just know that the birds will probably want to share your food. There are signs on most of the animals pins that say feed me or do not feed me so be sure to pay attention. After playing it was time for a horse ride and probably Gabriela’s favorite part of the farm. She was big enough that she got to ride a horse and even got to pick out the one she wanted. She picked one by the name of Honey and she was beautiful! She reminded us of Spirit from the Disney movie so we renamed her to Spirit. We took one last walk around the farm to say goodbye to all the animals. We highly recommend Kiwi Valley Farms if you are in Auckland and looking for a fun day activity. We all loved it so much we added it to our top 20 things to do in Auckland. Which you can find here if you are looking for more ideas on what to do while in Auckland (and surrounding areas).

After a fun filled afternoon at the farm we set off on to our next adventure for the day-Karekare Waterfall & Black Sand Beach. We are working on that post soon so be sure to check back as it was probably one of the most stunning places we visited while in Auckland.

Channeling my inner Robin Sparkles (If you haven’t watched How I Met Your Mother you need to asap Sean and I are Marshall and Lily in a lot of ways) or my teenager years here. I have to be honest as an adult I am not a huge fan of the Mall. I would much rather shop at bargain clothing stores like TJMax, Target, or a good second hand shop. Oh how I love browsing thrift stores for vintage and unique clothing and one of kind items. Throw bargain price in and I’m in heaven. Stay focused Lorena, back to the mall. This being said we went at the mall several times while in Auckland. We probably visited the mall more times in that one month then we had in the past year. Why!? Below are the top 5 reasons we found ourselves at the mall at least once a week.

• We have and are traveling with our 18 year old daughter who loves to shop
• It gave us something to do on the rainy days (there were a lot of these)
• We were curious what they would be like compared to the malls in the USA
• They have grocery stores inside the mall so I can get the grocery shopping done while the teenager shops and its a win win situation
• They also have several restaurants, a movie theater, and playground so it really was a good time for everyone

So how did the malls here in New Zealand compare to the malls in our hometown of Oklahoma? They are similar in a lot of ways and have some our of favorites stores like MAC, H&M, Cotton, and more. However, they differ in that they also have grocery stores, liquor stores, bowling alleys, arcades, bookstores, toy stores, and lots of outdoor areas to enjoy. They really have something for everyone and every occasion. Some of the malls are probably the same size in square footage as the malls we had back home and other’s are a lot larger. I really enjoyed the way the malls where all kind of fragmented yet were all one building (most of the time) by the use of courtyards, outdoor seating for restaurants, and play areas for children. 

New Lynn Mall was the closest mall so we found ourselves here the most. It was roughly a 5 minute bus ride from our airbnb in Auckland and had a countdown-grocery store, a movie theater, and play area that Gabriela really enjoyed. It was sort of basic in that it was a big building with lots of shops inside and a small courtyard that housed the kid play area with restaurants surrounding the perimeter with outside seating so parents could grab a bite to eat and a drink while the kids played. I thought this was pretty clever and I will be keeping this in mind for work-design purposes in the future.

SkyWorld  is the next mall we will discuss and is one of the malls that we just happened to stumble across while walking the streets in search of ice cream. We were blown away!! If the Jetsons had a mall this would for sure be it. It had a very futuristic look to it and it truly felt like you had been transported in time. If I was a teenager this would have been my spot. It had six different levels that housed shops, a movie theater, an arcade, two bowling alleys, and restaurants. It was truly and overload on the senses and the people watching was reason enough to spend several hours here. There was such a huge diversity from people to fashion it was really incredible. This was more of an entertainment center then it was a shopping mall but it did have a few stores so we are going to classify it as a mall. We highly recommend visiting because it is so different and  you just have to ride the escalators and rocket elevator. 

Britomart was our very first mall/shopping area in Auckland and again we accidentally found it while exploring downtown on foot. Its crazy how much you see when you walk everywhere. We miss so much when we are in our cars zipping from one place to another. Britomart is a very high end shopping district with lots of name brand stores and a very sophisticated feel. The design and layout of the area, shops, and restaurants make spending the day here easy. Most of the people we saw were in business attire and looking sharp as hell! People shopping on their lunch breaks or taking coffee breaks to chat. To be honest we felt a little out of place in our jeans, sneakers, t-shirts, and superhero costumes (Gaby-who actually was probably the only one who felt completely comfortable) but we enjoyed ourselves none the less. The shops and patios/courtyards all have a clean and modern feel. The lights strung between the shops also give it a very fun and romantic type of flare. This was not only our first shopping experience in Auckland but also the first place we saw the use of green walls which we absolutely love. If we were living and working full-time office jobs you could probably find us here having coffee in our all black attire (the unofficial but sort of official architect wardrobe). It is a fun and attractive spot and definitely worth a look if you are downtown or in need of some designer duds. 

Sylvia Park mall was one of the last malls we checked out and once again stumbled across in search for food. We like to eat and sometimes when we are out exploring we just google restaurants nearby and go based on what we feel like eating, the photos they have, and the reviews. This mall was also very modern in design and had lots of name brand stores. It had a huge kids area in the center and with trampoline jumps, zorb balls, and more. You have to pay in order to do any of these things and we aren’t really down with paying for these kinds of activities with our tight travel budget so Gaby was a little bummed but when she heard the word tacos she got over it pretty quick. This was our first (but would not be our last) time to have tacos in New Zealand. We went to a restaurant called Mexico and enjoyed some really great food in a pretty cool  atmosphere. So if you want to get some shopping done while having your kids work on their trampoline skills this is definitely the place for you.

Overall thoughts: 

• The mall is actually not a bad place to hang
• The malls here in NZ have so much more then just shopping to offer its customers
• The architecture and design alone are reason to pay them a visit
• If you have a teenager go ahead and take them it will actually not be as bad as you think (if you are anything like me and dread the mall)
• The food is pretty good 
• Exploring on foot really is a great way to explore a city
• We find the coolest places on accident when we are looking for food

Our first big adventure in Strawberry (our new/used car)!! We had explored quite a bit of Auckland on foot but having a car meant we could now explore even further. For our first big road/day trip we chose to go to Manukau Heads Lighthouse (pronounced Ma-nu-cow)  located atop Awhitu Peninsula . It was only a few hours drive from where we were staying in Auckland and from our research it looked amazing. So we packed our bags for a day trip which included – lots of water, snacks, blankets, coats, our cameras, and umbrellas and began our adventure for the day.

The drive was amazing…well it was amazing for those of us that were not driving. We saw sheep, cows, horses, incredible rolling green hills, and the sea. Sean on the other hand had to keep both eyes on the road (there are even road signs that say something along the lines of yes our scenery is beautiful but if you want to look pull over or keep your eyes on the road-stay safe) so he was unable to fully appreciate the scenic views on the way. Not to mention the stress of driving in a foreign country on the opposite side of the road and car then you are used to. Lots of the streets in New Zealand are very narrow and lots of times you are driving with mountain on one side and cliff on the other. We were still trying to get the hang of driving here so its safe to say that we got honked at A LOT and passed several times on our way to our final destination. We will be writing a post all about driving in New Zealand soon. We have some really good tips that include what to do when you get to one way bridges, what certain signs mean, and what to do at all the roundabouts.

So a little background info to explain why we decided on this as our first trip. Sean proposed to me by a lighthouse in Hawaii and they will forever have a special place in our hearts. Not only because they remind us of that magical day when he got down on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage but also because they remind us of the day we chose each other. The day we made the decision to stick by one another, to be each others light when things are dark, and that we are adventurers. Not many people out there get swept away in the middle of the night on a surprise trip to Hawaii to be proposed to next to a lighthouse. For all of these reasons and more lighthouses will forever be special to us and this one is no different.

It really was an amazing little lighthouse and the view was spectacular!!! I wish we had gotten there earlier so we could have spent the day. We hadn’t thought about there being a closing time and therefore kind of just decided midday that we would go search for it. We got there with about an hour to spend walking the track, taking in the views, and exploring and learning all about the lighthouse. There are only a few lighthouses in New Zealand that can be fully explored by visitors. You can climb the tower and see the prisms of the original 3rd order dioptric drum lens or take a walk around the Lightkeeper’s balcony and pretend to be a lightkeeper just as we did. For more interesting facts about the lighthouse (as well as learn about their hours of operation) please visit their website here. The Auckland Council even featured one of our photos on their Instagram page which was fun you can find it here.

Some tips for your trip

• Make sure to check the hours the lighthouse is open; weather and holidays could affect hours
• Make sure to pack a coat and umbrella – it can get pretty windy up there
• If you plan wisely pack a lunch it would be a great place to sit, enjoy some lunch, and take in the views
• Take some cash – it is free to enter and enjoy but donations are greatly appreciated and help keep the lighthouse maintained
• Wear comfortable shoes and cloths as you will have to go up 120 stairs to get to the lighthouse and more if you want to go inside and get to the lightkeeper balcony