Tag: auckland

EN ROUTE!


by KandE

TIME TO WRITE.
JUST SAW MY FIRST SHEEP.

&Another cause for caps lock:
WE ARE EN ROUTE.

The destination: superfluous.
All I care about is that we’re no longer lounging in the shadow of that abominable syringe.

IMG_6088

Abominable syringe: Quite lovely at floor number 50, really.

Last night Eric and I finally made the ascent to the Sky Deck (pronounced “Sky Dick”) to delight in the enduring pleasure of a well crafted cheese board & a glass or two of the cheapest wine on the menu. The place was surprisingly deserted for a Sunday afternoon, permitting us to play an ongoing game of musical chairs to take in every view of the 360 degree allowance. We spotted our 4 “houses” since we arrived, mapped out our walks from above, attempted to play the ABC game, and ordered another round. It was the perfect way to wave goodbye to the city as we continue our quest this morning, heading south on an intercity bus, to hopefully exchange a summer’s worth of hard earned savings for a new home-on-wheels.

OH, HEY
MORE SHEEP STAGE LEFT
TALKSOONLOVEYOUBYE

untitled-13untitled-36 untitled-29untitled-59

^ Fun fact: it only takes two glasses of wine to get me good and tipsy.

Cheers!
K

[Still] Auckland


by KandE

Le siiiiiiigh.

untitled-1

The good news: Our transpacific wire transfer has successfully gone through. We’re cashed up and ready to ride dirty.

The bad news: I’m updating the blog from yet another dingy hotel room instead of the back of a bitchin’ new campervan. Four thumbs down.

The problem: There isn’t a vast selection of vans in a close proximity meeting the qualifications we’ve set. They’re too far, too expensive, too cheap, or too dirty. Most aren’t self contained (meaning your access to campsites is far more limited + you really do have to make your dumps in the woods) and the high summer season in New Zealand is just getting underway. It’s a seller’s market. And we’re on the losing side.

It didn’t really occur to me this might happen. That we’d be stranded in a string of hotels, decreasing our daily budget as each calendar day disappears. With our to-do lists dramatically shrunk, we now spend an increasing amount of time doing research into the various options we have. I’ve found old ambulances, converted ice cream trucks, and quirky trailers. (All ideas Eric was quick to pull the plug on.) We’ve considered flying down to the south island, taking a train, and bussing towards a different pool of options. There’s still a slim chance of renting until the right opportunity to purchase comes along, but that seems like a potential waste of time and an even bigger waste of money.

This trip is starting to feel like a stressful, stagnant waiting game.
If we’re in Auckland much longer, I think Eric might wake up to a little surprise parked in front of our hotel.
Wood dumps be damned.
I’m rooting for ice cream.

-K

Auckland


by KandE

I forget the nature of business in this part of the world.

After 45 minutes of online searching for the ideal breakfast cafe where scuffed white low-tops aren’t out of place, and the menu is still fresh, we set out from our new hotel. (See also: Eric is not partial to the more creative establishments where exotic flowers are growing out of your crêpes, and most of my selections ended up being “too fancy.”) Heading west towards 2 closely situated options, we were dismayed upon arrival to discover that one cafe was belly-up and the other: vanished. I forget the nature of business here: no one gives two shits to bother updating Mr. Internet over anything. (This has not been our first experience with this phenomenon since arriving nearly 4 days ago.) Thilly Americans.

Anyway.

After settling for some nearby bagels–overpriced and decidedly yuppie–alongside a beautiful latte with gracious and redemptive qualities, I now feel properly fed, caffeinated, and prepared to divulge our current status report.

Have Done

1. Set up our bank account
Our biggest trial yet. Apparently large financial institutions aren’t so keen to issue cards to a couple of homeless foreigners. Oh, right. Homeless and unemployed. During this whole back-and-forth dilemma I mostly took naps of frustration, while levelheaded Saint Eric sorted through the mess. Bless him.

2. Acquire a new phone + NZ number
Our quickest accomplishment yet. The salesman asked a total of two brief questions (Which one? Name, please?) and we were on our merry way, with a payment of $39.95 NZD. By comparison, it took us longer to select toothpaste at the corner market outside the hotel.

3. Mail back my airport badge

4. Successfully hunt down the Kerry Rocks stockists in Auckland
Eric accepted this as an important task, and allowed me to add it to our to-do list between items such as “exchange currency” and “go to the car fair.” Both of which we failed to do, along with item #1: buy wine. Our to-do missions for today are quite clear.

-K