As I am lying here, in the back of Timmy the Motorhome with a view of the beach, there is no other way than feeling our trip has just now entered Chapter 1 proper. The last week could be considered prolog, but in life – everything counts, nothing is extra. So let me tell you a bit about the rest of our first week in New Zealand.

We arrived on Thursday morning, as evidenced in our first post. By Saturday, we had pretty much settled in: All paperwork done, accounts reactivated and a motorhome purchase completed. Shoutout to Hennie, who was very supportive and patient with his personal “scammer” buying a pretty expensive vehicle for the most part remotely from Germany.

Sunday was a slow day for all of us, most of all me with the obligatory plane-pest now all the way at the fever stage. Nina: The kids and I still spent some time in Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Center on this Sunday.

So as Monday came round, it was time to direct our focus towards this place. Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland. We decided to use the day to make good on Number 3’s birthday present and took the bus to MOTAT – the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland. He absorbed every minute of it, from opening time at 10am till the doors closed. The Agent of Entropy was less impressed but got distracted enough by some craft opportunity as part of the Auckland Anniversary Day weekend program. Her real highlight was the daring deeds to be had on the playground afterwards.

Tuesday was all preparations, getting Timmy ready for the road. It never ceases to amaze us that the unwritten NZ tradition when trading used goods seems to be that the buyer will clean. Nina: I on the other hand used the morning to get acquainted with the laudromat to do some proper washing of everything.

I was a bit high on isopropyl alcohol and glue (from fixing some sag in the headliner in the luton) when we met friends Elle and Nick in the afternoon. As perfect coincidence had it, Elle works at the Auckland Maritime Museum, so Number 3 got to see the Black Magic and America’s Cup replica first hand.

It was brilliant to catch up with old friends after 10 years. Things change, things stay the same, but everyone has a distinct memory of the covid years.

And so Wednesday came around. Nina’s first day at work and the reason (among others) why we are in New Zealand in the first place. So while she got real work done, thanks to amazing support from the Auckland Art Gallery staff, I got to play stay-at-home dad and took the little ones on a day hike up Maungawhau (Mt. Eden). The cafe up there was the perfect lunch spot. In my view, the view from the caldera beat spending over 100$ on the SkyTower any day. The Agent thought less so for all the walking up and down hill it entailed.

And so, we end our settled ways, sleep one more night at our AirB&B with Timmy ready to go tomorrow …