Hello!
We made it to New Zealand! After a quick 14-hour flight from Bangalore, we are officially in the honeymoon zone. New Zealand has been amazing so far – beautiful scenery, delicious wine, and delightful Kiwis.
Without realizing it, we went to the number one must-see place in New Zealand (according to Lonely Planet) on our first day: Waiheke Island. It’s known for attracting wealthy Kiwis on holiday to its spectacular beaches and world-class wineries.
We hopped on a tour led by a local, who introduced to the quirks of this unique region. He said everyone on the island collects their own rain water for personal use – there is no such thing as city water, and drilling in your backyard is possible but very expensive. They store water through the winter to use during the summer. Can you imagine Americans being so resourceful? They’re also very protective of the people who have lived there before it was run over by visitors, in particular, of those who occupy houseboats. They protested to allow the houseboat residents, who don’t pay taxes and live in ramshackle rafts, to continue living there against a recent New Zealand law – and won.
We visited four wineries, from a very small one (only 1,200 bottles produced per year) to the most well known, having won the Best Wine in the World award decades ago and putting Waiheke on the map. Chatting with the others in our group was entertaining, and we now have an invitation to visit Napa from a winery owner. My favorite wine in the world is here, as introduced to me by a Kiwi through work, which is sauvignon blanc with grapes from the Marlborough region of NZ. It smells like passionfruit. We may have bought a few bottles. Even Mark really enjoyed it, and he was very excited to “finally” like white wine.
The food in Auckland has been top notch. Every meal is super fresh and full of greens – quite the contrast from a lot of Indian food ๐ Veg options are aplenty, as they were in India, so I’m in heaven. They say Auckland is a foodie town and we definitely agree.
We plan to drive from place to place for the rest of our trip, including to the beach on the west coast, and I don’t think either of us were especially looking forward to time on the road until we headed out. The trip to the west coast from Auckland was one of the prettiest drives I’ve ever seen, complete with rainforests, mountains, and views of the turquoise ocean from atop the cliffs. We also marveled at how many cows we saw, even compared to the Midwest – they definitely earn the title of a dairy country. Yet again, locals here are amazing drivers as they zip around tiny hairpin turns with no shoulder. Volcanos are everywhere, apparently – although I’d rather not know when I’m on top of one.
At our little beach town of Tairua, we have a cute little villa to call our own, complete with a backyard and “pond”! The water completely drains out at low tide but fills up like a lake at high tide. 
Not far is Hot Water Beach, where you can dig down about six inches and find burning hot water. It’s a remnant of the days when volcanoes in the area were active – water is heated up underground and seeps up. We arrived early Christmas morning and beat the crowd to stake out our huuuge hot tub in the sand.
Most Kiwis and Aussies spend the holidays on the beach with their families, which is very different from the traditional American or European celebration. They’re more likely to throw on a glittery light-up hat in the shape of a Christmas tree than they are to decorate one in their living room. We got the low-down on Kiwi culture from PwC friends who recently moved back to Auckland full time (thanks Will and Tally!) They informed us that Kiwis are quick to relax and joke around, and find it tough to be confrontational. It was great to catch up with them in their new city, and to hear how it really is from a resident. I have to say that I’m jealous that they get to stay here longer than our two weeks ๐ They treated us to dinner and a black sand beach just outside of Auckland.
We happily joined in on the local beach holiday tradition. After Hot Water Beach, we went down the street to Cathedral Cove. It’s an iconic view, but came with loads of people. It was recommended to us that the cove next door was just as good, and it was the prettiest beach I’ve ever seen. We literally had every inch of white sand to ourselves, and the water was turquoise just like in all those touched-up beach photos.
It’s funny – the New Zealand sun is SO hot but the temps are moderate. Yesterday was a high of 66 degrees, but we both got a little red even with layers of sunscreen. Today was a high of 73 and we both thought we’d come out terribly crispy. They say it’s because there’s no ozone layer here. So let’s be more conservative with the CO2 and all, because that sun is dang hot.
One more day on the north island, and then we’re headed south (where it’s cooler – weird, right.). Merry Christmas to all!
Love,
Melissa
So beautiful! Thanks for the interesting stories!!!
Thanks Aunt Mo! ๐