We just had two weekends of guests which has been such a little pick me up for all of us. Despite loving our own company and heaps of family time, it has been a welcome change of pace and has enco
uraged us to get out and spend time in our backyard.
Our first visitors were from Wellington (the southern tip of the North Island) and therefore, very familiar with Auckland so I did very little planning on what to see. Instead, we took them to the places that we have been frequenting on weekends and they showed us a part of the city we had never experienced. Seems there are very few furniture stores in Wellington so they took us to the design district to look at some uber high end furniture. Gorgeous!
Our second visitors were
friends we know from Turks & Caicos but are originally from Australia and Canada respectively. My friend had been to New Zealand before but not for years and was keen to see whatever we could over four days without straying too far from Auckland. I fudged the planning a bit (took them to a farmers market on the North Shore that was open Sunday, not Saturday) but recovered quickly with a stunning walk along the west coast at Muriwai Beach. Spectacular. And a smashing fish and chip lunch.
We finally made it to the Takapuna Market and it was fab. We all love a great market and this one featured fresh produce, breads, food trucks and local specialties like white bait fritters – which we didn’t try but should have! We chased that with a long walk along the bays of Auckland – Mission and Kohi. Redeeming ourselves – for sure.
I figure we will be pros by the time Carsten, Jake and my sister arrive.