La Bonne Vie!: Revisiting Aotearoa

Choosing our accommodation at Kerikeri was rather difficult because there were so many terrific Airbnb listings on offer. When I finally decided to stay with Judith, it was because of three reasons : the proximity to Rainbow Falls, we share something similar (our lives in Cornwall / Devon) and the many reviews given by previous guests on how exceptional her breakfast is. And we had a taste of it for ourselves on Thursday 12 December. It was a sumptuous spread, with no expenses spared.

With Judith and her lovely handmade Christmas tree

Spoilt silly at breakfast

Soon we had to bid Judith farewell as we had a long drive ahead of us. It was going to be a 3 hour 26 minute-drive to Auckland and Derrick dearly wanted to get some All Blacks merchandise. To be honest, I haven't had enough of this area, Bay of Islands. I would love to return one day, just to spend more time here, going to the Farmers Markets, taking a cruise to check out the wildlife and travelling on the Ninety Mile Beach.

Arriving in Auckland in the early afternoon, we located our Airbnb accommodation (RM255.23) in Westmere, a residential suburb. Mattie, our hostess, welcomed us warmly, especially since we are from Malaysia. Mattie herself had lived and worked in Malaysia for several years and she can still remember a smattering of Bahasa Melayu.

We left our car there and took a cab to Queen Street, the main commercial thoroughfare in Auckland CBD. Whilst being stuck at the traffic lights, we witnessed a Maori woman ranting at a man, presumably her husband. There were curious onlookers, and soon, a police officer stepped forward to mediate.

Feeling a little peckish, we stopped at McDonald's. When travelling overseas, we do sometimes try out the local McDonald's because we find the taste is way better than our local McDonald's and also, they do have their unique local offerings. Here in McDonald's New Zealand, it would be a sacrilege not to try their Kiwiburger, which has been around for 30 years! Mmm...it sure was scrumptious! Sandwiched between the sesame seed bun were a beef patty, fried egg, sliced beetroot, tomato, cheese, lettuce, onions, ketchup and mustard. I loved it so much that on our last day in Auckland, I had it again at the airport for lunch.

Had to take the image of the Kiwiburger from the Internet as we were too busy gobbling down the burger to take photos of it 😅

After Derrick got the All Blacks stuff that he wanted, we strolled around the area, to the Auckland waterfront and over to the Wynyard Quarter. But wait...my food-trained eyes had spotted dessert!

Fantastic dessert for a hot summer's day!

Shared a huge scoop of Hokey Pokey (how can you come to NZ and not have their unique flavour?) and a scoop of Salted Caramel & Pistachio

To cross over to the Wynyard Quarter, we had to use the Wynyard Crossing, a double bascule walking and cycling bridge built in 2011. We located the Auckland Fish Market, a trendy food court with the freshest seafood.

Observing the bridge being operated

The Auckland Fish Market was started by Albert Sanford way back in 1904.

At Auckland Harbour, with the Sky Tower in the background

With my darling at Auckland Harbour

The reason for us locating the Auckland Fish Market...well, that's connected to the highlight of the day. I had been looking forward to reuniting with my dear childhood friend, Jacqueline and her husband, Anand. They came to meet up with us after work and the four of us had a fabulous evening catching up, getting to know each other (the men, not Jac and I) and dissolving into laughter (when Jac's around, that's expected) over great food. A truly enjoyable evening!