We arrived in Auckland on 26th April, checked into the Brown Kiwi hostel and prepared to get started on the next chapter of our life. Our original plan was to spend a month touring about, find somewhere we liked and then start job hunting. It didn't quite work out like that!
Helen came with a fair few contractual deadlines to meet from various UK publishers so really needed to get cracking, and the agency I signed up with were a bit too efficient and got me a job interview in Auckland the week after we arrived. We had a quick trip up to Northland and then marched off to the estate agent to get a rental, so Helen could start writing. We've got an apartment smack in the middle of the city (If you look at the Auckland cityscape, the central feature is the Sky Tower - the apartment is about 3 minutes walk away!), I trooped off to the interview and got myself a job, and that was that. We are still going to do a mini-tour in a couple of weeks, when my end of term hols kick in.
The apartment is pretty reasonable - nice building, spacious, quiet. Not an awful lot of natural light however, and the balcony overlooks the entrance to Highway 1. Not exactly Lord of the Rings scenery! It is dead handy though. We drive out of the garage, and within 30 seconds we're on the motorway! Queen Street (AKLs answer to Oxford Street) is a 3 minute walk, as is the main cinema complex, all the theatres and Sky City casino. A 10 minute stroll puts us in all the trendy harbourside cafes (like Canary Wharf, but with the Pacific Ocean instead of the Thames!) So for the time being we're making the most of it and enjoying city life.
Titirangi (more photos)
We've started to look at locations to live, we'll probably buy somewhere next year, but it's early days yet and we don't want to rush into anything. The two faves so far are Wanganui (on the West Coast, 4 or 5 hours south of AKL) and Titirangi- another West Coast location, but this time in Auckland. Wanganui is a lovely, sleepy little town - very laid back but lots of amenities and quite a busy little community. Titirangi is surrounded by bush and awesome black beaches. Gorgeous spot and close to the city too. That's where the AKL hippy/arty set live by all accounts! Still plenty of places to investigate though, and every new place we go to seems more spectacular than the last.
Once you're out of Auckland, the rest of NZ feels very different. It's hard to describe, but people have said it's like UK was in the 50's. I can see why. It's a very open and friendly place, with no airs or graces. Straightforward and down to earth. Bloody fantastic in other words! Even Auckland is reasonably laid back considering the size of the place. Of course, everywhere else in NZ, Aucklanders are reviled as go-get-um yuppie types who are rude and brash. They are known as JAFAs (Just Another F*cking Aucklander!) but coming from the UK, it's about as fast paced as Stoke!!! Elsewhere in NZ, life is led at a gentler pace.
Speaking of Stoke - we're desperate to see Stoke NZ. It's on the South Island, near Nelson. Surrounded by Alpine mountains, national parks and fabulous beaches and bays. Bit like Westport Lake and Mow Cop then! We've been to Leamington - a district of Cambridge, near Hamilton. Seriously nice place - another one on the shortlist. It actually looks a bit like Leamington too - all wide, tree-lined boulevards and Georgian villas (wooden here though).
That's it for now, I'll try and get some photos up tomorrow and a bit more guff!
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