I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about what amazing times we had between Thanksgiving and New Zealand. But, because I’m so woefully behind in blogging (read: we’ve had way too much fun), I am going to start with New Zealand and then intersperse posts from late November (Morocco) through the first week of January (Lani Days). 

We dropped Lani off at the airport on January 6 and we went back to Ericeira to pack and get ready to depart for Auckland on January 7.  We decided to go Lisbon-Dubai, Dubai-Auckland, Auckland-Tauranga, instead of going home to CA because it was cheaper to go that way half way around the world.  And what a FANTASTIC journey it was.  No one really ever says that about a 24 hour+ airtime journey (more like 36 hours with all the car traveling and layovers).  But, C had a surprise for me.

Cashing in some AMEX points, C upgraded us to business class on Emirates from Dubai-Auckland, the 15 hour 45 minute flight. He thought I would need to get some sleep and so he splurged for the lay down compartment. Little did I know there was a bar in business class and all the fun snacks I could stuff myself with (read: sashimi bowl, gyozas, sandwiches, ice cream, cheese trays, etc.). So, what did we do instead of sleep? Mainly hung out with the flight attendants in the bar and ate and drank our way halfway across the world. It was SOOOOO fun. Oh, and a bonus about flying Emirates is when you lose your watch at the security checkpoint in Dubai, Emirates will track it down for you and put it on an airplane to another destination that Emirates flies to that you’ll be at (we chose Christchurch). What service!

We decided to spend 2 nights in Auckland to acclimate/recuperate before going to see our friends Jeff and Cindy in Ohope in the Bay of Plenty.  The first day we were there, we went for a long walk to try to work off about 1/10th of the food we ate on the plane.  Then, Day 2 we walked from St. Helier’s Bay, where we stayed in a super cute Airbnb to downtown Auckland.  Our 6 mile walk was a good one and was in anticipation of what we expected to be some long tramps (hikes).  

On January 9, we flew to Tauranga where our friends picked us up and then we drove to Ohope. What a magical little town Ohope is. They are nestled in between the bay and the ocean with views of both from their house. We got great weather the majority of the time we were there. Here’s a pic of sunset over Ohope:

On morning 1 in Ohope, we took SUP boards and kayaks out on the bay and went oyster hunting and pipi hunting. How fun it is to find your own oysters. Magical!

On day 2, we went to an Avocado Festival with some new friends, Alice and Willie.  Alice is from New Zealand and Willie is from Scotland.  Great god Willie could drink Scotch!  He and Carnet became new best friends.  The Avocado Festival was a blast.  We then returned to Alice and Willie’s magnificent ranch where we were greeted with beautiful horses (Tommy and Santiago, but Carnet named them Thomas after our dear friend and Sebastian after.. hmmm, I’m not sure). We saw the “world’s cutest sheep” (Google it and it will show you what kind Alice has) as well as everything else you can imagine on a New Zealand ranch.  

The next day, 9 of us went on a proper tramp – 5 hours ascending over 2500 feet to a DOC hut called Crosbie’s Hut on the top of a mountain. The first three hours were gorgeous and challenging as the majority of the steep climb was in the first 3 hours. Then, I decided to get food poisoning or some other thing that caused some issues. But, we all made it to the top at the 5 hour mark. I ended up eating a few crackers and going straight to bed with a fever and chills. I missed what was a gorgeous sunset and sunrise.

The next day was brutal. I was in full sick mode and had to make it 5 hours down the mountain.  Cindy offered to call a rescue helicopter but we were are on a tramp under the bush so there would be no way for a helicopter to land. Plus, that would have been so embarrassing (yes, I’m too proud, I know).  Everyone took stuff from my pack and Carnet’s pack to lighten our loads, and Carnet carried my pack all the way down.   I made it down and went straight to bed thanks to Carnet telling me stories, singing to me, pushing me up hill (yes, for some reason on the tramp down we still ascended about 1000 feet), and feeding me electrolytes.  Thank you friends and love of my life!  

I rested for the next few days and then the cooking began!  C and Jeff used Jeff’s outdoor grill/firepit and made some delicious short ribs, T-bones, and pulled pork, none of which I could eat. Booooo.  But, C made his grandma’s famous chicken soup for me and I ate that over 3 days.  A lifesaver!  (Ask C for the recipe – it works).  Then, Logan and Kailia had some friends over for a burger bar party at which Carnet made surprise Jucy Lucies and none of them had had those before so that was fun.  

The last big meal we all shared was homemade ramen the broth to which C cooked over 36 hours.  We forgot to take pictures but we used a Serious Eats recipe. I made the ajitsuke tamago marinated eggs (see recipe here). Those eggs were amazing. But you need to tweak the recipe a bit, especially if you have super fresh eggs which we did. Bring water to a boil, drop eggs in and let them simmer at a low simmer for 6 minutes 30 seconds. Yes, it’s a bit precise if you want to still be able to peel them and have the runny-jammy yolk inside. Immediately drop in an ice bath and completely cool before peeling. Try peeling under water after that.

Lucas, Wainani and Waimana made a somewhat last minute decision to join the crew at Jeff and Cindy’s, so we had a house full. We had some lovely beach days on Ohope beach and on Sunday we made a trek to Tewara Falls. It was an easy 20 minute walk to the falls and they were gorgeous. Most of us ended up jumping in the crisp blue-green water. It was super clear and very refreshing. What a great last day!

Yesterday, we flew to Christchurch. We ate at a fun restaurant called 5th Street. We sat at the chef’s counter and chatted up Will most of the night. The food was excellent. We highly recommend it. Today, we pick up our van and head to the west side of the South Island. We’ll see how far we get but the object is to make it somewhere near Hokitika by nightfall. Inclement weather is looming so our #vanlife experience over the next 15 nights is likely to be wet. But, whatevs. We’re on holiday!