wineries on the beach and a volcano picnic

My last weekend  in Auckland was lovely, so lovely I actually regretted leaving... a little. Christmas in the park was a fascinating experience – listening to carols about sleigh rides and snow (in the dead of summer) sung buy some incredibly famous performers (I assumed they were famous by the reaction of the crowd, I had never heard of any of them). The following day I caught the ferry over to waiheke island, a magical land with water so blue it’s surreal and wineries on the beach.  After a swift dip and a couple wine tastings, I got a call from my favorite kiwi grip who was about to go catch his dinner. He swung by to pick me up and after a quick “tiki tour” of his favorite private coves we motored out to the middle of the bay and dropped our lines in the water. Before my line even hit the sea floor, he was reeling in an impressive red snapper. But the wind quickly picked up and nothing else was biting so we called it a day.

I FINALLY got to meet up with an old friend of mine to have a breakfast juice concoction (she had invited me for tea) on my way out of Auckalnd. It was short but sweet and we talked about the upcoming kiwiburn festivities.  The timing with work might make it a little tough to get out there but I’ll do everything I can.

Had a meeting with a grip company in Taupo that afternoon. Murray, the owner, was a little off-put by me seeking out more Hobbit contacts; apparently he got fired from Lord of the Rings and there’s a little bad blood there. But he showed me around his shop, pointed at things I was all too familiar with but then said incomprehensible words (I think I need a kiwi to english grip dictionary), and we swapped production stories over coffee.

It was a little late to continue my drive to Wellington so I had my first night sleep in my station wagon on the edge of the lake, a boat ramp actually. I looked all over for signs saying no overnight parking but didn’t find anything… until the next morning when I got up to brush my teeth. Whatever, I got away with it.

A brief picnic at the base of a volcano then next stop, my new home town