This week we were reminded how quickly time goes by...
Breeana was due for her four month immunization shots... Can you believe that - we've already been here for almost two months! The nurses and doctor were great. Nice and gentle with our little one.. or should we say our chubby one! She weighs 16 pounds! That's right... the NZ
climate sure agrees with her! Her little arms and legs are
rolly polly, just like the landscape here.
Well it's been a busy week. Michael trained (motor vehicle extraction) and then we headed into the big city - Auckland - for the weekend for some retail therapy. We finally felt confident enough in our driving skills to be up to the challenge!
The motor vehicle extraction course was awesome. In all it was a 3 day course. Not since being in drill
school was I able to play with the cutter and spreader for a prolonged period of time. Paul gave us an overview and explained some of the techniques used by the NZ fire service. So without further delay we headed out back and starting
shredding cars for the rest of the day.
The following day we were right back at it,
honing our skill. I quickly realized that you have to have respect for these tools or you may end up with fewer fingers or a bruised hand. One thing that
surprised me was the weight of the tools. At first they seem light but after some time they begin to ware on you as you manipulate them to accomplish the desired effect.
The final day was used to display what was learned by staging events around the city. In total 4 accidents were set up and we were let loose to break glass, cut off doors, remove roofs, and stabilize cars. The day had its ups and down as the rescue truck was called away a couple of times during one
scenario so we ended up with a "how we would of". In any event, the experience and what we learned from Paul and the rest of crew is unmeasurable. This 3 day course was one of the best learning sessions that I have ever had during my career and I'm grateful for that. Thanks
a lot to the guys for helping out.
First thing Saturday morning we made our way south to Auckland. We started to get excited when the highway
widened from one lane to two, from two lanes to three and then even to four.
Our first stop to begin our "retail" therapy was to find the "iceberg" outlet. Iceberg is a well known clothing manufacturer that specializes in winter clothing - particularly winter under garments and sweaters. You must be asking ourselves why in god's name would we want to buy winter clothing when we live in Canada where some of the best winter clothing is made...well it's simple... it's really cool stuff. It's made from
merino wool and it's supper light and warm. We can already confirm the quality of the wool and how light it is but we will have to let you know how warm it is once it passes a real test in Canada :)
Kathy had forgot the driving instructions to this outlet... but as usual, we were lucky in our misfortune and we stumbled
across a mall that was even bigger than
Bayshore! Now you are talking real "retail" therapy! So we decided to stop there for lunch, nurse
Breeana and get our mall fix. The place was huge and very busy. It reminded us of
Bayshore just before Christmas. Crazy busy. It made us wonder how busy it will be just before Christmas...
With our packages in hand we
zigged zagged our way to Auckland. It's quite a spectacular view as you approach the city. It's nestled along the ocean and surrounded by boats of all sizes. It's
definitely a city where ships have played and play an important role in its day to day life.
We arrived at the
Westin which is situated on Viaduct Street right on the harbour. Awesome spot. Not only fabulous rooms and service but it's in walking distance to everything - restaurants, cafes, Queen Street (shopping),
Skytower, Ferry Building, Maritime Museum, Albert Park, University, etc.
Once we checked-in we immediately
set out in search of some good food. You can always count on the Irish for some good food -
O'Hanagans was the place of choice! So much so that we ate their twice!
After an amazing night sleep and a hearty breakfast we set out to conquer Auckland's downtown core. We walked up and down Queen Street. Saw the Labour party officially launch their party platform at the old town hall - FYI NZ is also holding a national election. Ate lunch at the
Skytower where we witnessed some crazy people
bungee jumping off this 328m tower. Mackenzie didn't like seeing people hanging out the window and dropping to the ground. Hopefully she will never come to appreciate bungee jumping!
We walked and we walked, and we walked, and we walked seeking out all the tourist attractions listed in our eye witness travel guide. We covered off the majority of the landmarks and decided to leave a couple of them for our next visit.
Definitely a city that we will visit again! We did come
across something that we found different... let's see if we can describe this correctly. You know how in North America at an intersection, you wait for the little white or green guy to let you know you can walk and how it alternates from one street corner to the next. Well here, at SOME intersections, all four corners change at the same time so that the entire intersection is car free. Once this happens, everyone who was waiting any one of street corners just simply crosses any which way. We actually stopped and checked it out to make sure it wasn't a fluke. We just don't know how people distinguish from one intersection to another since it didn't appear to us that this was a general rule applicable to all intersections... can any kiwis enlightened us:)
Before heading home, we decided to checkout the Aquarium. It was great. Mackenzie and
Breeana really enjoyed it. Everything is designed to cater to small kids. It's all at their level. Lots of water tanks so the kids can be at eye level with the
fishies. It's actually built on the ocean so that some of the facility is submerged by the ocean during high tide. So when you are sitting in the cafe you are below sea level looking underwater. They have huge turtles, stingrays, and sharks. There is also a replica of the Cape Evans 1910 hut used by one of the first South Pole explorer Robert Scott. We can't forget to mention the penguins and their offspring. Lots of fun!
Another great weekend had by all!
