Last weekend was super-duper fun! The party started when Ashley, one of the other Au Pairs, came and we took the bus into town so we could attend the Diwali Festival! It was really cool to see the different dancers and be able to experience some Indian Culture. Throughout the day we watched a variety of performance from traditional classical Indian music/dance to more urban Indian-rock and pop style dance/music. One of my favorite parts of the festival was the tasty food we got from the booths. I ordered the Thali which was a type of variety platter with a few different Indian favorites. There were also booths where they were performing Henna tattoos as well as selling clothing, relics, and other cultural items. Inside the Aotera Center they had activities for children as well as some really cool murals where people put what their favorite things about Diwali were.  So if you are wondering Diwali is actually the celebration of lights. “It represents the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil, and the renewal of life. Diwali commemorates the return of Lord Rama, his wife and brother from their 14-year exile and their defeat of the demon-king Ravana. Villagers celebrated the return of the Lord Rama by setting off fireworks and lighting diyas (clay lamps) to guide their journey back to their kingdom. (Auckland Diwali Brochure)” I was amazed at the number of Diwali fans there were here in Auckland. It was great to see everyone coming together and celebrating such a good cause in a smoke free- Alcohol free zone! Happy Diwali Everyone!!!!

After Diwali a group of Au Pairs and I decided to go multicultural and have a go at an Irish pub down by the boat marina called Danny Doolann’s. The pub was a total success! They played fabulous live music, had delicious food, and it was a super cozy atmosphere. A really cool part about this particular pub is that instead of just being an open space it had little sections like mini rooms with tables so we were able to get our whole group of Au Pairs in there and enjoy some good conversation while we ate and listened to the music. Funny thing was there was 2 Americans and 2 French Au Pairs and the girls from France ordered wine while us Americans stuck to good ole’ Hard cider. I sampled the Boysenberry cider while Ashley went a little more exotic with passion-fruit, both were very tasty! After we were done there we caught the bus back home and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. A great end to a wonderful day in Auckland!

On Sunday Ashley and I slept in then booked out hostels for the south island tour since we are going to get a couple extra days in there besides the included ones with our tour. And yes I meant HOSTEL on HOTEL! For those who don’t know, this means that you sleep in a room with multiple beds and everyone shares community areas. It’s cheaper and a great way to travel as long as you don’t mind sharing a room with other people. After we got the business out of the way we decided to head over to Mangere Domain just south of Auckland and do some hiking. We were able to catch some magnificent views of the whole city as well as Pukaitutu Island. One of the most exciting parts about Mangere Mountain was that it used to be a volcano so it was a huge crater and we were able to walk all the way around the top and see places we had visited or other landmarks that we wanted to visit. When you are that high up on a mountain here and you can see water and city for miles you feel like you are on top of the world. It was so breath-taking!

While we were up on the Mountain we saw this sweet bridge that we wanted to cross which looked like it would take us over to an island so we navigated and scoped out our route from the top and put it into action when we got back to our car. Unfortunately the island was closed to the public for a rehabilitation project but we still saw some great views and had an adventure finding new places. The crazy thing here is even if you get lost it doesn’t matter because even when you are lost it is beautiful so it makes everything better! While on our quest for the bridge we found a winery and almost got run over by this crazy New Zealand truck driver but no worries we made it out alive!

One Tree Hill 

Supposedly there are more sheep than people here!

 After we returned from Mangere we went over to One Tree Hill to actually climb the famous landmark that everyone talks about. Just and FYI One Tree Hill Park is huge and deceptively high. Anywho, so we spent the rest of the afternoon climbing to the top, chasing sheep, roosters, and other farm animals that were hanging out in the park with us and taking in the gorgeous views from the top of the hill. One Tree Hill is landmark is like the north star of Auckland because no matter where you are you can see it. Luckily I live fairly close to it so no matter where I am as long as I go toward the landmark I know it will take me close to home. Since it can be seen from almost anywhere in the city that view works both ways so we were able to see all the spots we had visited earlier that day as well as Mt. Eden, Sky Tower, and other places we visited on our tour which was quite spectacular.

Another great weekend well-spent here in Auckland is gone and I’m sure there will be much more fun times to come. I’m contemplating the Tall Ship Festival next weekend at the harbor! I think it would be super awesome so hopefully I can get some time away to go scope it out! Well, Ta Ta for Now!!!

Thank you to all those who read. I hope you are enjoying the pictures and stories! Photos just cannot do this place justice!