We arrived in New Zealand on our 8th anniversary and we were quite happy to be back. We have been to New Zealand twice and even got engaged here just over a year ago. We stayed for three nights in Auckland before picking up our next campervan. This gave us the opportunity to get an appointment for a haircut and for Marcel’s last Hepatitis vaccination.
Auckland Domain
We managed to get an appointment for Marcel’s vaccination in the early afternoon the day after we arrived. The weather was just lovely, so after a nice breakfast, we took a stroll through Auckland. Close by was the Auckland Domain, which is a 200-acre public reserve with some tiny walks with cute names like “Lover’s Walk” that leads through native forest.
Auckland Domain
It was exactly then, that we realized, how much we had missed “GREEN”. We did enjoy our time in the United States – don’t get me wrong. But when we strolled though the little park, we both stopped and took a deep breath with a big smile on our faces. These were the colors and the smell of nature we were really happy to see again.
Something we were also happy to see again: New Zealand’s carrot cake 😋.
Mount Eden
We still had enough time left to walk up to Mount Eden. Here you get a fantastic view of the city and see a beautiful volcanic crater.
After Marcel had gotten his vaccination shot, we walked back to the centre and stopped at Mac’s Brew Bar. I really loved the place, because it was super cozy with lovely book shelfs, couches, and a fire place (it was burning with gas, so we didn’t smell like a campfire afterwards). Staff, music, food and drinks were awesome, too. So what’s not to love?
Mac’s Brew Bar in Auckland
Butternut pumpkin fritter burger & fries at Mac’s Brew Bar
The following day, we had another appointment: to the hairdresser. Marcel’s last haircut was more than 4 months ago; mine was last July. So we both needed a haircut. After breakfast we used the speedy WiFi in our accommodation to upload and translate the last US blog posts and then went to “Dry & Tea”. This place was recommended to me by a fellow researcher who lives in Auckland (Thank you, Felicity!) and I really liked the place. I found it really charming. We were a bit early so they gave us the “tea menu” to choose from.
An hour later we felt human again and took a stroll towards the harbour. We thought about having a nice lunch but most places didn’t look very cozy. And then we saw THE sign:
As the name of Marcel’s dad is Rudi – we took this sign as a sign and went up there. And it was soooo nice, that we spent here 5 hours. Weather was fantastic, we had an excellent view of the harbour and people; and both food and drinks were really great.
Dr. Rudi’s Beer tasting
View of the harbor
Hello, Lucy!
The next day, we could pick up our new campervan from the Jucy branch in Auckland. As the current accommodation was from the same company (“Jucy Snooze”), we got an idea for a name of our new home:
We were a bit earlier at the rental company, but luckily, our van was ready for us and after dealing with the paperwork, we could take her with us right away. Allow me to introduce: Lucy.
