New Zealand Express: Day 5 Relaxing Whangarei

 

The weather seems to have started cooling down and while the days are warm, the night here has started getting cooler. Give it another couple of months or less and it will be full on winter. I decided to stay in this morning and go through some family records as I kept finding things stashed in unlikely places.

 

I came across a few of my grand mothers records including an old drivers license from the around the 1950s I think. All hand written and nothing digital. The one thing that turned me off was going through a container of photo albums and finding a dried out mummified sparrow. At first I thought it was a bookmark. It wasn’t a bookmark and I removed it from the house quick smart. That really turned me off and I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. I put everything back where I found it. That was a nope, nope, nope moment. I did come across old film canisters and slides, things that would be difficult to make copies of, but not impossible.

 

Not much really happened apart from moving a family member from the hospital to a care facility that turned out to be pretty huge, as they will be there temporarily until something opens up with availability in the care facility of their choice where they will be looked after. I got to see another side of Whangarei I hadn’t seen before and it was interesting. I did end up with something I had been craving since I been in New Zealand, and that was their roast meals. I tend to love them when I am here, that is when you can find them.

 

New Zealand Express Day 4: More Whangarei

 

By the numbers:

9.42kms

11,936 steps

 

My plan was a simple one as I had my alarm set, I was going to walk down to the shops for breakfast and pick up some food from the shops as well after I had done a big walk. It never worked out like that as I looked out the window and it was dark, so I thought the sky being dark also meant it was going to rain. An hour later I looked out and the sky was clear, so that probably just meant that it was dark and nothing else.

 

My walk took me from the back of the high school as I had done that part of the walk following the river to Vinegar Hill Road that went up to an area of that same name, but I was heading towards the shops in the other direction. It was a nice enough day to do some walking and time was actually running out for me. I found the main shopping centre from another direction and was pretty easy to find actually especially when you basically pop out of a street and what you want it just over the road. I did some shopping, and then stopped for a coffee. On the way back to the house, I stopped for a pie and a bun, but found I couldn’t use credit or paywave. The ATM down the road wasn’t the bank linked one so I couldn’t use that. A phone call later and some cash was delivered, then I was able to grab the pie that I had held for me. That was an interesting experience as I didn’t want to be dishonest and just walk away.

 

Later on we had a drive around town for an appointment where afterwards  we visited the hospital While there I got to see the helicopters land and take off from the building opposite the ward, which was pretty cool to see. That is part of this particular journey even though I have done other things in between visits. I havnt been in one area for too long really. After the visit it was starting to get dark and we had to go visit the shops for some stuff, which I had a browse within the Warehouse basically like Kmart, but a New Zealand version.

 

New Zealand Express: Day 3 Wandering Whangarei

By the numbers

19,124 steps

15.68 kms

 

I decided that today I would take a wander to the hospital to visit my grandfather as it was a fair distance, but a nice want anyway. I did have a good sleep at the house and woke up after sleeping in, although did I really since I would be using Australian time to compare to NZ time. It was a good rest anyway, and one I probably needed. The day itself looked like it would be nice enough for me to take a long walk.

 

My walk would begin from the Whangarei waterfall that is nearby and I wanted to do this as I don’t know if there would be many more opportunities of doing so in the future, and unsure if I would be returning to visit in the future either. For a weekday and I guess school holidays it was actually busy around the waterfall with people around. I had left closer to midday instead of earlier, which in hindsight, I probably should have. Still I headed towards Whangarei CBD and passed people along the way with music in my headphones. It turned out to be a nicer day than I had thought and I was going at my own pace following the river into town.

 

It wasn’t long before I found my way into the town basin where the Hunderweiser museum is located. I did visit the bookshop there and they didn’t have much of a collection there. I found some fudge at the Fudge shop, and the glassblowers were not blowing as they were doing maintenance. I wanted to see glass blowing. I ended up at the shops wandering through two bookshops knowing I couldn’t bring books home just yet as I would have other things in my bag. I did get myself lost, but not really as I found a railway bridge, but it was the wrong one. I was after the other one on Water street, but I was in the general area since I found the library and that was a waypoint for me. That just meant I needed to walk through the carpark towards the hospital, which I knew where it was.

 

The time was getting cl;ose to 2pm and I was getting hot and hungry. Along the way I stopped off at the Rose garden that is part of the council parks and found not many roses. I am unsure if this is the wrong time of year as I am always not disappointed by the one in Parnell in Auckland. Still I was happy to see it. Within sight of the hospital, I was able to get myself some pies as sandwiches were no longer there as it was getting close to closing time it seems. With a drink I was able to make my way up to the right room. On the way out after the visit it seems that it had been raining, so I was lucky to be inside while it was wet. I should say I bought chocolate fish and ate them too. They are a New Zealand thing.

 

New Zealand Express: Day 2 Flying visit to Whangarei

By the numbers

7.21kms

8,813 steps

Bag 15.6 kilos

 

I was up early enough after going to bed late. The bed was soft and nice to sleep in, but I needed to get up and running. There looked to be some rain floating around in the clouds and the tarmac looked like it was wet. I did however watch planes take off before going to find breakfast that included a coffee of sorts. I needed to get to the domestic terminal and since my other bag was unavailable since it was in use elsewhere, I had to use a bag that didn’t attached my my main bag when walking. The bag actually fit inside my main bag, so the 10 or so minute walk meant I was carrying around a 15 kilo bag, but I could have taken a trolley if I had thought about it, but I also though I couldn’t.

There were plenty of people walking between the terminals and it was great that the weather was kind to all of us. Once I found the Air NZ bag drop, I removed my backpack out of the main bag so I could print off the tags and boarding pass. When I wandered over to drop the bag off, I found I was actually in the wrong area. I was meant to be in the regional hub and not the main area as I would have been heading to the main transport hubs like Christchurch or Wellington. The smaller planes left from elsewhere. The last time I had used bag drop in the domestic terminal was quite a while back and they had separated the areas since then. The scanner at the regional terminal liked me instead and my bag went off into the depths of the airport underbelly. I had to wait for around an hour before it was time to board the plane.

The flight to Whangarei was actually uneventful and relaxing as all I did was read and eat a sandwich that I had bought along the way. It was interesting watching the clouds and then the refinery as we are about to land in Whangarei. It was good to see family waiting as I was whisked away from the airport once I collected my bag. We ended up at the hospital as that was the main reason for my travel as my grandfather was actually unwell and I wanted to visit to see how everything was going. I spent most of the day at the hospital with a food run to a nearby cafe as I wasn’t after any of the hospital cafe food. It was interesting seeing the different wards though. There will be some changes in the future, but that can be dealt with when the time comes.

 

New Zealand express: Day 1 To Auckland

I had decided due to a sick family member to make a trip to New Zealand for a week as I thought it was wise after some thought off work. It is amazing how thoughts are collected and decisions made when there is a long wide road ahead of you amongst the traffic. With the decision made and chores completed, I had booked the flight to Auckland and Whangarei within hours of leaving.

 

I had packed in record time as I only had several hours before I was picked up. I was sure there would be something missing along the line and once I arrived at the airport I was aware of exactly what it was. I had left some public travel cards behind even though I wouldn’t be using them as I was going to be elsewhere, but still good to know. I was half hour early and a random Jetstar guy asked if people were going to New Zealand. I put up my hand and he responded by telling me I could check in. I had already checked around 10 mins before. I had the same message that I was early. The same Jetstar guy realised his mistake when he asked where I was going and then fumbled his delivery by saying that he meant Christchurch. Riiiight, I believe that one. I actually had no problems getting through the airport and past the border security, which I was happy with.

 

The flight was actually one that would get me into Auckland late, so I was staying there overnight and then flying to Whangarei the next day. The flight was like every other flight, but it wasn’t a full flight, which was lucky for me as it meant I was able to get off quicker. Though a trip to the toilet meant everyone had vanished. I had to declare medication that wasn’t mine and it wasn’t something I wanted to get into trouble for. I got a line to go through as I had become confused as I had to go to line 4 and I asked a lady, who told me I go through 4, and go around and then exit through lane 0. Clear as mud. I went through the designated lane and then had to explain the medication. I had no idea, but it was a prescription, and I explained the circumstances. One of the ladies said it was hard as she would have to travel back to India from New Zealand to be with family. I ended up going back through a loop that sent me towards line 0 where they marked me off. Then through an exit lane with a Beagle who sniffled past and I stopped the handler. I asked if she had luggage tags and she directed me to some others. Unfortunately they are really popular, but I can have cards instead. I thanked them as they were better than nothing and just as cool.

 

The exit awaited me and then I had freedom. The freedom of the airport meant I was headed to the hotel. I was up on the 10^th floor and will be enjoying a nice night. I knew there were changes made at the airport, so I went to look at where the bus services now left. That is a whole new area instead of out the front of the terminal. I basically did a lap of the hotel before I went back inside as everything was basically closed for the night except for a 130am Jetsar fright that was late in leaving for somewhere. I should say very, very late as they did say sorry. I will await the next day and see what happens.