And Then There Were Three

Okay, so he’s not actually a Canadian (yet), but he tells everyone that he’s from Vancouver, thus…

Meet Raj!  Our newest roomie, partner in crimes, a man of many hats (literally) and the newest Canadian Kiwi!

It took him a few months, and multiple going away parties, but he’s finally here. To celebrate, we cooked a lamb dinner, then took him out to explore the town.

We figured, the best place to see Auckland was from the top of a volcano. 

Our volcano of choice was One Tree Hill. After wandering past cows, sheep and chickens in neighbouring Cornwall Park (yes, parks here keep farm animals, even in the city) we climbed the cone and were rewarded with a 360° view of the city.

This volcano’s real name is Maungakiekie. Historically, it was one of the largest Maori settlements. When Auckland became a colonial town, the hill was renamed after a single tree near the summit, most likely a pōhutukawa . This was cut down for firewood, a new tree was planted, then also cut down, and so on… While many trees have been planted on this spot over the years, very few have prospered. And so the struggle continues.

History lesson over.

After the volcano, we figured we needed to introduce Raj to Auckland’s other common geographic feature: the beach.  We headed to Mission Bay for a late lunch under the watchful eyes of the seagulls.

And with that the welcoming party was over. We quickly put Raj to work in the garage…

And on the bikes…

And the car… Yay for windows that work again.

So now he really is one of us.