Where We Be
| Auckland, New Zealand |
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Amazingly, we find ourselves at the end of our time
in New Zealand. We are really gonna miss this place!
VISITING SKY TOWER
We walked to the biggest landmark in Auckland, the
Sky Tower, where we met Robin’s cousin Chris, his
wife Colleen, their daughter Lizzy, and her boyfriend
Phil. We instantly felt at home with our relatives from
“Down Under.” We all headed up to Orbit, a posh
revolving restaurant with the best views in the city.
Cousin Chris sat next to Robin so the two of them
could catch up. Colleen, full of zest and energy, has
been faithfully following our travels through New
Zealand on our webpage, so she knew exactly what
we’d been up to during the past four months. My red
snapper was the best fish I’ve had in New Zealand,
and Robin’s rack of lamb was equally delicious (and
highly appropriate as a last meal in New Zealand).
SELLING THE WHITE WIZARD
We spent two long days inside the second-floor
dungeon of the Backpackers Car Market. There were
practically no buyers, so all the bored-out-of-their-
minds sellers hung around the garage, some of them
passing the time by repeatedly tossing a tennis ball
up onto a rafter beam and trying to get it to balance
there. I showed the car to one couple from Ireland,
but just as they were getting comfortable inside, the
White Wizard started acting up, repeatedly making
its obnoxious “AAAAHHHHNKKKKK!!” sound as the
door locks tried to engage. “Does it always do that?"
the woman asked. I tried to explain that the car
doesn't like it if one of its doors is left ajar for more
than a minute. Needless to say, they got out of the
car and I never saw them again.
We finally managed to sell our car during our last full
day in New Zealand. First thing on Sunday morning,
we drove to the Auckland Car Fair. This is a big
event and the place was chock-full of buyers and
sellers. Robin was diligently polishing the White
Wizard's windows when a friendly Kiwi approached.
He told her he was used to buying older cars and
had learned to pay as much attention to the sellers
as to the cars themselves. He said he felt good
about us and ended up buying the car without even
test driving it. We felt happy to have found a good
home for the White Wizard.
in New Zealand. We are really gonna miss this place!
VISITING SKY TOWER
We walked to the biggest landmark in Auckland, the
Sky Tower, where we met Robin’s cousin Chris, his
wife Colleen, their daughter Lizzy, and her boyfriend
Phil. We instantly felt at home with our relatives from
“Down Under.” We all headed up to Orbit, a posh
revolving restaurant with the best views in the city.
Cousin Chris sat next to Robin so the two of them
could catch up. Colleen, full of zest and energy, has
been faithfully following our travels through New
Zealand on our webpage, so she knew exactly what
we’d been up to during the past four months. My red
snapper was the best fish I’ve had in New Zealand,
and Robin’s rack of lamb was equally delicious (and
highly appropriate as a last meal in New Zealand).
SELLING THE WHITE WIZARD
We spent two long days inside the second-floor
dungeon of the Backpackers Car Market. There were
practically no buyers, so all the bored-out-of-their-
minds sellers hung around the garage, some of them
passing the time by repeatedly tossing a tennis ball
up onto a rafter beam and trying to get it to balance
there. I showed the car to one couple from Ireland,
but just as they were getting comfortable inside, the
White Wizard started acting up, repeatedly making
its obnoxious “AAAAHHHHNKKKKK!!” sound as the
door locks tried to engage. “Does it always do that?"
the woman asked. I tried to explain that the car
doesn't like it if one of its doors is left ajar for more
than a minute. Needless to say, they got out of the
car and I never saw them again.
We finally managed to sell our car during our last full
day in New Zealand. First thing on Sunday morning,
we drove to the Auckland Car Fair. This is a big
event and the place was chock-full of buyers and
sellers. Robin was diligently polishing the White
Wizard's windows when a friendly Kiwi approached.
He told her he was used to buying older cars and
had learned to pay as much attention to the sellers
as to the cars themselves. He said he felt good
about us and ended up buying the car without even
test driving it. We felt happy to have found a good
home for the White Wizard.
| Robin and Colleen have a laugh in her snazzy kitchen |
| The Sky Tower dominates the Auckland skyline |
| Dining with our "New Zealand family" at Orbit atop the Sky Tower |
| It's quite a shock to the system to visit a real city after so many months in the country |
| The White Wizard's nice new Kiwi owner. Farewell, WW! |
| Lovely Sunday evening barbecue on Chris and Colleen's patio |
| We work hard to get the White Wizard ready for sale -- but now It looks so nice we don't want to sell it! |
| Amazing view from our verandah at the aptly named Verandahs Backpackers |
| You can bungy jump off this thing (but not this trip!) |