Auckland, New Zealand - Day 2

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Slow start to our first day in Auckland. Our sleep rhythms remained on Australian time, so none of us were out of bed before 7:00am. Andi had a few work calls this morning.

There’s a small office space in this airbnb which gave him a nice space to separate himself for working.

The kids and I did school work together once they were awake for the day. First Aden, then Tory. Andi prepared egg roll in a bowl for lunch, and we all ate together after we finished their lessons.

This afternoon, we visited Mount Eden which is the highest volcano in Auckland. At its summit, visitors are rewarded with sweeping views of the city and its many harbors. Mt. Eden is located 15 minutes from our airbnb in the heart of the city.

Today was a hot, sunny day with temperatures around 80 degrees. It’s more humid here than it was in Adelaide, making the air feel sticky. The kids complained a fair amount as we climbed several sets of stairs to reach the summit of Mt. Eden. Fortunately, the walk to the top didn’t take long.

Mt. Eden is a dormant volcano. Its last eruption was 15,000 years ago, and today green grass covers the crater. There’s a nice walkway surrounding the perimeter of the crater and 360-degree views of the city of Auckland below. In the distance, the famous Sky Tower can be seen.

Our family visited Auckland in March 2020, just before the city went into a four-week COVID lockdown. We weren’t able to do any sightseeing at that time, so it’s nice to be back in the city again to see all the major sights we missed. So far, Andi and I have been impressed with Auckland’s cleanliness and ethnic diversity.

Our family navigated the circle walkway around the crater, then descended the pathway to the Mt. Eden neighborhood. Tory and Aden continued to complain about the heat, but Andi and I were glad for the warmth of the sunshine. It felt great to us.

Andi suggested we walk to get ice cream as that always changes the kids’ moods. We ended up at Pistackio Gelato & Co. Tory, Aden, and Andi each ordered two scoops each — biscoff and cherry black forest for Aden, pistachio and coconut & butterscotch for Andi, and strawberries & cream and chocolate for Tory. My strategy is to let them order, and then take a bite of each flavor.

Each of the flavors were so delicious that we found ourselves in a conversation with the owner as we complimented him on his product. He told us that he is originally from Argentina and his wife is Italian. (Ah, makes sense why his gelato was so good!) Once a Michelin-star career chef, the Argentine owner transitioned his talents to gelato so he could touch more people with his craft, he said.

Tory and Aden were in much better spirits after ice cream, and didn’t seem to notice or mind our two-mile walk back to the airbnb. Andi stopped at a fruits & vegetables stand and purchased a cantaloupe (called rockmelon here). I teased him about buying something so heavy for me to have to carry home.

The leafy, residential streets of suburban Auckland were a pleasant place to stroll. Along the way, we saw a few funny, interesting things:

1) a restaurant called Burger Wisconsin which Andi and Aden really wanted to try. “At least let me stop and ask the guy if he’s from Wisconsin,” Andi begged.

2) A porta-potty company called Sh*t Box. “At least they call it what it is,” Andi quipped.

3) Beautiful, mature trees lined the streets as we walked.

Back at the airbnb, Andi grilled steaks, chicken, and foil-packet yellow potatoes for dinner which we ate alongside New Zealand sweet corn. Oh my goodness, it was the best thing I’ve eaten in a long time! Our dinner tasted just like summertime. Summer sweet corn was clearly the star. Andi said he knew it would be good when a crowd of local ladies at the grocery store were swarming over the pile.

We’ve officially entered into the teen years. Tory and Aden seem to catch a second-wind every night around 10:00pm. Both kids were up having a “second dinner” of leftover potatoes, mandarin oranges, Pringles, and ice cream. Andi and I went to bed, attempting a better night of sleep tonight. This street is noisy with traffic and people walking by, so we shut the windows tonight and turned on the air-conditioning.

Looking forward to one more day in Auckland tomorrow.