soft landing in Auckland

[ilanarama]

Having friends at one's destination has got to be the cushiest way to do foreign travel. The first day we just walked around Devonport with them; the second day they drove (TOO FAST ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE ROAD OMG) to a dramatic windward beach where we hiked across black sand and clambered up steep rocky hillsides to look out to sea; and on the third day, we fledglings borrowed their bicycles and struck off on our own.

So far we have explored an entertaining aquarium (penguins! camouflage sharks! gigantic spiny lobsters!) and the entire Auckland museum, and ridden and walked around town, and hiked on Piha beach and on one forest trail in the Waitakere park which led to a beautiful waterfall. We have also drunk a lot of wine and spent many hours catching up with Anne and Doug (who, as nice as it is to have them taking care of us here, we kind of wish they still lived in Colorado!) Today Jenine's coming by and taking us to visit her and Nat for a few days, giving Anne and Doug a few days' respite from us.

We haven't yet gotten out to the parks and big hiking and stuff yet, which we are both excited to do. But, you know, easing in slowly and all that.

ETA: 9 photos in the area around Auckland (mostly Piha beach, a few others)

Comments

[wychwood]

Yay for NZ! :) Have a great time with your adventurings.

PS: ITYM THE CORRECT SIDE OF THE ROAD ACTUALLY *g*

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

It certainly isn't the RIGHT side of the road! Yikes!

[wychwood]

Yeah, it's really freaky, isn't it? I remember my first time in a left-hand drive car, aged fourteen sitting in the front seat and FREAKING OUT because it was the *driver's* seat and I'd never sat in the right-hand seat before. It's just so wrong!

(I finished watching Slings & Arrows! It was really good! Anna is the best of them!)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Anna = awesome, y/y/fy?

I have such respect and admiration for Susan Coyne (who also co-wrote the series).

[wychwood]

FY

Yeah, she seemed pretty cool in the behind the scenes stuff (also: she was in Due South! I do not remember this! But I also somehow missed James Allodi as, like, Bondage Mountie #1, so whatever). But cool as Susan Coyne is, Anna is just ultimate win.

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes, Bondage Mountie! I remember that! I think there are only twelve actors in Canada, so you watch long enough, they all show up eventually. I mean, they had to use Martha TWICE on due South. I guess they ran out.

[wychwood]

True!

It's always surprised me that the Hewlett doesn't seem to be in any of the CD6 stuff - I know SGA's over in Vancouver and Gross et al tend to hang out in Toronto, but, honestly, there are enough crossovers (CKR in BSG, for one, plus the boy from Lear who falls in love with the musical girl, Lulu, is Ford's crazy sidekick from "Lost Boys", and I know I recognised other faces) that you'd have thought...

(I don't know if you've ever seen Babylon 5, but they did a sort of spin-off recently, a two-episodes-straight-to-DVD thing, and boy was it obvious that they're shooting in Vancouver now instead of SoCal! There were, no kidding, eight named actors in the whole thing, three of them from the original cast (and one of those was the Evil Chancellor from "The Tower"), two I didn't know, and three dead Stargate characters - Grodin and the chancellor of the Hoffans from SGA, and Janet Fraiser from SG-1.)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Actually, both CKR and Hewlett are in The Life Before This (although not in any scenes together), but I don't recommend it - it's bloody weird. Er, not that anything else by Hewlett's not (Cube much?)

[wychwood]

Er, not that anything else by Hewlett's not (Cube much?)

Side-effect of going to school with Vincenzo Natali, I guess! The only non-SGA Hewlett I own is Nothing, which is good, but still very strange... :)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

I liked Ice Men, although it passes the Canadian Movie test (i.e., included themes are dysfunctional families, alcoholism, gay angst, and death). Hewlett's character is annoying as hell.

[thalia]

Isn't being a passenger on the left scary??? I think I hated that even more than driving on the wrong left side.

I'm glad you're having fun! I'm terribly jealous!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Especially the way Anne drives :-)

[pir8fancier.livejournal.com]

You've landed safe! YAY!

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Yay!

[(Anonymous)]

Glad you got there safely!
~Mir

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Mir, if you see this, say HI for me to all the BQ girls! I am regretting that I didn't bring my running shoes as I am feeling sluggish and fat now...

[traveller42.livejournal.com]

Now's my chance to catch up :-)

[sobelle.livejournal.com]

::waves wildly:: wish I were there!! looking forward to hearing more driving on the wrong side of the road adventures! \0/

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Yeah, wait until WE start driving...I hope we have NO adventures then...

[china_shop]

Ooh, I think I've been to the black-sand beach, once. Hai!

(You're here!!!!!!)

[ilanarama.livejournal.com]

Hi hi hi! You have all these volcanoes here making black sand. Very cool!