Arriving back in Auckland was odd. I kept having memories play across my mind and I felt like a rolling mixture of happiness, exhaustion, and bittersweet melancholy as certain things would trigger reminders. A billboard advertisement. The familiar accent. The style of the houses and size of the yards. We flew for 15 1/2 hours… Read More Auckland
A few weeks back, I was contacted by David Hammond from FreshTake Publishers. Turns out, we had a couple of things in common. For one, we both have lived/live in New Zealand. David’s wife is an American (like me), named Jennifer (like me) and has spent time living in Virginia (like me). Easy to see… Read More “A Fresh Take: New Zealand” Calender and 20% Off Discount Code
We’re planning a mini-vacation from Auckland to Wellington and then from Wellington to Christchurch! Thankfully we’re not driving it. I’m not sure I could handle that at 35 weeks along (we’re planning to leave on the 4th of April). We have accumulated enough frequent flier miles through Air New Zealand to have our plane tickets… Read More From AKL to WLG to CHC back to AKL
We decided to take a day trip this past weekend to Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel Peninsula. image via Google Maps It was about a 2 – 2.5 hour drive from where we live. Joe did so well in his car seat and Chris and I were able to enjoy the beautiful Saturday morning scenery.… Read More Coromandel Peninsula: Cathedral Cove
This is one of my new favourite drinks: Honey Cola, by Pheonix Organics. Pheonix is a New Zealand company and I’ve had several different flavours of their beverages, always with good results. But when I saw this one at the Ceres Fresh Market, I was a bit skeptical. I like honey, but I wondered how… Read More Honey Cola
We’ve been spending the last week or so in Wanaka. Where’s Wanaka? Good question. Wanaka is represented by the “A” on that map. If we were to drive from Auckland to Wanaka, it would take between 20 – 22 hours, involve a ferry ride, and cover just under 1,500km (~930 miles). We decided to fly… Read More Wanaka in Photos
We spent Wednesday – Friday in Queenstown last week. Let me share a little bit about our trip with you… Our “side” of fries at Pub on Wharf… more like a giant bucket ‘o chips! Somebody was very happy about all those carbs… Actually, I think he was just happy to see some food. We… Read More Queenstown
We’re in Auckland again, but not for long! After 5 days of being home, we’re about to set off for the South Island to explore Queenstown and Wanaka for 9 days. I can’t wait! image via You might think that we’re slightly mental to head out on a trip to the South Island a mere… Read More We’re Back, and Now We’re Leaving Again!
And for the record, I pushed Joe in the pram!
This morning brought with it a sight that I had never seen in New Zealand: snow on cars. I woke up just before 6:30am. Joe was sleeping in the lounge of our hotel suite, and apparently got confused in his new surroundings. Chris got up with him first, as he was nearer the door, but… Read More George Street, Dunedin
I’m currently sitting on the couch of our hotel in Dunedin waaaay down in the South Island of New Zealand. Ah, Dunedin – the Edinburgh of Australasia. Yes, I said Edinburgh. As in Edinburgh, Scotland. As in nowhere near New Zealand. I’ll spare you the super long history lesson, but the name Dunedin is actually… Read More Dunners
Alright, blog people – I need suggestions for things to do in Dunedin! Did you know that even though I live in New Zealand and even though my Google Maps is set for NZ settings, the first “Dunedin” that pops up when I do a search is “Dunedin, Florida”? I’m sure that it’s much warmer… Read More Dunedin?
I considered writing a “Living in New Zealand: Renting” post today, but decided against it after last week’s whining 🙂 Instead, I’m going to share what I consider to be some interesting, thought-provoking health statistics for both the United States (where I’m originally from) and for New Zealand. There’s no real rhyme or reason for… Read More Living in New Zealand: A Health Statistics Comparison
I love to multitask. If I can kill two birds with one stone, then I’m a happy woman. That’s why this post makes me happy, because I get to show you a video that I find hilarious and expose you all to a Kiwi accent. I say a Kiwi accent because it’s been my experience… Read More Living in New Zealand: ____ Kiwi Mums Say
When we first moved to NZ, one of the things we were told was that the traffic in Auckland was horrible. It’s not. Well, not compared with Boston. Or New York. Now that’s terrible traffic. Traffic here just seems like regular, big-city traffic, the likes of what you’d expect in a country’s largest city, but… Read More Living in New Zealand: Give Way Rules
One of the main reasons (that I hear) people offering up for moving to New Zealand is that they’re looking for a simpler lifestyle with a better work-life balance. New Zealand does a great job at providing employees with vacation time and encouraging them to take it (I believe that employees here are entitled to… Read More Living in New Zealand: Work-Life Balance
Apparently, writing a post at the end of the day after a glass of wine and a busy couple of hours in the Emergency Room isn’t always the best idea. Or maybe it is. I don’t know, but I feel the need to clarify, and that’s probably my fault. When I said that I didn’t… Read More A Clarification
I’ve decided to start doing a weekly “Living in New Zealand” post. I’m hoping that it’ll give a bit more structure to my blogging while also providing useful information for potential expats. This week, I’m going to write about – what else – the cost of living in New Zealand! One of the things that… Read More Living in New Zealand: Post #1
