Now I have arrived at our house in Auckland and it is amazing! In the time before Søren and the kids arrive, I am busy already organizing some of the practical aspects of our life here, like local phone numbers and travel cards. I’m also figuring out a different recycling system, trying to open windows in this house dating from 1902, doing laundry in a top loader, and boiling water so it has less of a chlorine taste. I am also learning how to toast bread – it would seem easy, but I’ve been having an amazing number of blackened toasts coming out (when I had finally found the right setting for the first bread – the markings were faded – it completely blackened the second different type of bread!).

Once a Dutchie, always a Dutchie

I also quickly discovered that the nearest supermarket is half an hour walk from here... I had already planned to try and get a bike for the commute, and happily that went much easier than expected! On Saturday morning I became a member of some local Facebook groups, posted a question there, and in the afternoon I had two offers, one of which was irresistible – it was pink! So I picked that one up on Sunday afternoon, and biked to Devonport ‘downtown’, where it was clear that I’m the only crazy person to go to the supermarket by bike. I was a bit worried about the hills in the area, but happily the bike has 7 gear and for the way back I found a way that avoided the worst inclines. Cycling on the left is something that might be a bit trickier than I thought – in a car it kind of comes naturally because you are sitting on the right hand side of the car, but that’s not the case with the bike. But so far so good, and there are actually some bike lanes (and I did get a helmet with the bike!).

Sharks?!?

When scrolling through the local FB group, my eye got caught by a message about a shark being washed onto the beach. A SHARK?!? I thought we would be safe in New Zealand, compared to Australia at least (right, Marieke?). It turns out there are several types of sharks in these waters and some incidents to report, though shark attacks remain rare. Right… The next day I went down to the local beach, which is absolutely stunning and at only 10 minutes walk, and it was a bit strange to get into the water – happily many others were there (also further out in the water, and on SUP boards), so I figured I’d be safe enough. And it was really nice!

So, let’s see what other adventures come our way the next five months!