We were close enough when we landed in Australia, why not make the short flight to New Zealand too?! We were so glad that we did it.
Lady Hiva's first goal upon landing was finding a "good meat pie." Priorities! She found a place in a small town near the airport. We made our way there and in the small village center is a shopping area with a grocery store, a bakery, and a few places to eat. Sadly, the bakery was already closed when we arrived. But we chose to eat at the family owned burger place next to it. It was amazing! Everything was freshly made in the restaurant including the bun!
I was able to introduce the three of these people to New Zealand ice cream! It is one of those things that is a "if you know, you know" type of experiences. The ice cream is creamier and full of flavor...which possibly means it is worse for your health, but it is SO good!
We went into the grocery store and were so happy to see all of the aisles full of our favorite foods from Oceania!
After eating we went to check into our hotel in downtown Auckland. We had just arrived in the room and one of Lady Hiva's cousins messaged they lived near by...when she gave the address, it was back in that small village where we had burgers and ice cream!! We ate just down the road from their home! So we piled back in the car and went back so we could see them.
I parked in front of their house and as Lady Hiva was getting out, I saw another car pulling up and eyeballing where we parked, I wondered if I had taken their place. Then I realized that it was Vaka and Brooke! Cousins that lived near us in Utah! What are the chances that we would be coming from India and they from Utah and we end up visiting the same cousins in New Zealand at the EXACT SAME TIME!?!?!
We had a fun time laughing and sharing stories with cousins, aunts, and uncles for the rest of the evening.
Ever since I lived in New Zealand years ago, I have referred to bleach as Janola. The kids know bleach and sanitizer by Janola. I had to show them on the shelf the Janola bottle so they knew where the name came from.
We loved seeing all of the flowers and garden. The many flowers Lady Hiva and I had babied and grew in Utah were blooming and showing off in full force!
Even Koala Bear loved the flowers and carried around her bouquet for three days. She babied them by putting them in a water bottle to keep them alive. One day she forgot them in the hotel room as we were leaving. We went back up and could not get in because we had already checked out, so she begged the cleaning staff to let her in show she could get the flowers her aunty had given her.
The next day we drove down to Hamilton to the temple. It is one of the first LDS temples to be built outside of the United States. It, and the temple in Hawaii, served all of Polynesia for years until other countries built temples. On our way to Hamilton we also passed by the new temple being built outside Auckland so NZ will have two LDS temples soon!
We went to the museum of Church History in the Pacific. It was really well done. We had fun looking at the old records from the Church College of New Zealand and seeing the people that we knew listed. The school is now gone, but the memories remain.
While we were going through I realized that they senior missionary giving me the tour was the husband of the woman, Rangi Parker, who helped me with my undergrad research thesis over 18 years ago. I had spent time in their home, ate at their table and when I did not have a tie for church, she gave me one of her husband's ties. It still hangs in my closet. Such a small world.
It was cold and rainy for the first part of the day, but all of these Muggles LOVED being outside and running around in the fresh air!
The museum was really well done. We had a good time going through the exhibits. Many of them were hands-on and that made the kids really like the experience too!
Me pointing to my mission on a map from years ago.
We went with Vaka and Brooke to Hamilton. After the temple we went to eat meat pies with them. And of course we went to find some ice cream!
Our last stop was to see my Aunty who moved home to New Zealand after she retired in the States a few years ago. It was fun to see her and spend a few hours catching up on live and letting the Muggles share their talents on the piano.
The ice cream place we found was not what we expected. It was in the middle of Hamilton and a really yuppy area. But it was what we could find for the moment. It ended up being vegan ice cream! HAHA. Still good, but we were looking for the full fat, style ice cream.
When back in Auckland we met up with more cousins! It was so good to spend time with other couples our age and share stories together. Our kids loved playing in the grass and jumping on the trampoline in the backyard. While they were busy doing that, we went to the local ice cream place and had some delicious ice cream!
Being in New Zealand was amazing to see family. That was the highlight of the time there. I have a few other blogs to put up and show the fun touristy activities we did, too. But we all cherished the moments we were able to talk story and give hugs to people we love!
I think as soon as we left, we were ready to turn around and go back again!
Lady Hiva and her uncle! He is one the the last remaining alive of her dad's siblings
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