I spent Wednesday and Thursday doing some more exploring south of Auckland. Here’s what I discovered!

Day 3 (Wednesday Aug 22) – I kicked off the day with a free massage from Vincent, someone I met through a certain chat app. It actually turned out to be a great meeting, because we enjoyed an hour of conversation and two cups of tea together after the massage was complete. He is currently changing careers as well, so I felt like we had many commonalities in how we were approaching our futures. He’s now a Facebook friend, and I’m glad that I already am meeting people who I can visit again when I return in May 2019. Both of these images come from his massage room.

 

The next 4 images come from my walk back from Manuwera to Totara Heights. I found a hubcap on the side of the road and took and interesting selfie. I thought it turned out pretty cool. Then, I saw a rainbow colored roller coaster in the distance. I’ll maybe check it out next week if I have some time. It’s probably been over a decade since I’ve been on one.

I stopped into a grocery store to look around and was amazed to find a 30-pack case of Coke. Maybe they make them in the States too, but I don’t recall seeing them. Finally, I reached a stretch of road that had some kind of native bush/flower, at least I think so. I thought it was interesting because it was similar to a pine tree, but it had bright yellow flowers. It helped to brighten my walk, which was somewhat rainy in parts.

The rest of the day I spent back at Natalie’s house, writing posts, coloring, and getting organized.

Day 4 (Thursday Aug 23) – I decided to visit the Auckland Botanic Garden, as it was a short 2.3km (1.4 miles). I learned a down and dirty conversion for km to miles. Basically, just take 40% off the km and you will have a close estimate of the miles. The gardens themselves were fun to explore, and there was also a cafe with free WiFi (it’s hard to come by here in NZ) and so I had a nice breakfast of french toast and a latte. I then explored the grounds and found some interesting sights.

I realize from the last photo that I really need to work on my selfies. But I’m not too worried about that…I’m going to have lots of practice. 🙂

I then caught a train down to Pukehoke to visit my friend Nick, who I originally met in Billings a week before I left. One of the things I love about being homosexual (and there are many) is that no matter where you go in the world, you can find people who you can connect with because of the shared experience of coming out and everything that occurs in your life because of that. And so, a random stranger I met on one side of the globe was showing me his home on the other side of the globe in only two weeks.

I should have taken more pictures while I was down in Pukehoke, but I was pretty exhausted by the time I got there, and I just plain forgot. I did get a picture of the main street of Pukehoke, a small town about an hour away from Auckland (if you don’t hit traffic). I also took a picture of some funny wallpaper that Nick had in his home. It made me giggle.

Oh, and I’m so glad I got an Apple Watch, because it is tracking my movement, and I am moving a lot these days. I completed all 3 activity rings for the first time on Thursday, and my watch tracked that I covered more than 11 miles that day.

 

As a follow up to the cute chickens in the bathroom, they weren’t so cute by the end of Thursday. They actually loved to poop all over the place. That, combined with 5 people sharing the bathroom made me look into getting different accomodations for the next week. I’m really glad I did, because I found an Airbnb in Mt Eden (MUCH closer to the city center) for a very reasonable price, and I would have the unit to myself for the weekend, so I could go scuba diving on Saturday. So, Friday night would be my last night with Natalie & Co.

Well, that covers Day 3 and 4 of my amazing adventure. Thanks for tuning in! And since you did, you get to discover another song. This comes from this month’s Apperception III playlist, and I was surprised that Olivia (Natalie’s daughter) knew it.

This song talks about living at Mom’s house, which is something that I did this month. It shows a colorful tapestry of friends hanging out, having fun and dancing, something that I love to do. It talks about rising until you fall, and then rising once again, and that’s been my experience over the past year.

And so without further adieu – Rise ft. Jack & Jack – Jonas Blue