A few weeks ago, Melissa (one of the other Melissa's in my life!) caught a bus to the city to go and watch a friend of hers gig. She had asked me if I could come along too - and I could, but only after I had looked after my twin nieces beforehand. I was to drive across and meet her there, and then drive her home again. Perfect. She text me not long before I left my sisters house to warn me that she has been inspired by 'Julian the German', and had actually asked a random stranger on the bus if he would like to come along to the gig... of course first she ummed and ahhed about whether this was a good idea or not, but she thought he looked harmless enough - and more to the point looked as if he had nothing else to do and might quite enjoy going along to a gig. So she approached him... letting him firstly know that she had a boyfriend, and then inviting him along to the gig. He agreed. I first met Tristan in the dark - at a very loud gig, so we didn't say much at all to each other! Afterwards we went and enjoyed some pizza at Sal's and then I drove Tristan home. In the very short time that I had to speak with him, I learned that he had only been in the country for a week and a half and was waiting on his IRD number in order to look for a job. I also learned that he could be a great new friend.
Over pizza, Melissa mentioned Julian the German and how my other friend Melissa (confused yet??) and I had taken this random German (ze luckiest German in ze world!) on an amazing alphabetical adventure around Auckland. If you never saw that, find it here: http://sherbertinlondon.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/julian-german-jaunts-about-auckland.html
It very quickly dawned on me that it would be preposterous for me not to take my new friend Tristan on a trip such as that. And so, 'Tristan's Tantalising Twilight Trip' was born. We picked him up at 3.10pm on Saturday the 10th of March. And dropped him home again at approximately 1.25am on Sunday the 11th of March. It surely was a solid effort, and one Melissa and I are somewhat proud of. There are a lot of videos here... prepare to wet yourself laughing. Welcome to Tristan's Tantalising Twilight Trip.
Explore the GLOW WORMS in Le Roys bush – Leroy Terrace, Birkenhead.
I had heard about these Glow Worms in Birkenhead. I wasn't sure if they were only around at certain times of the year, and couldn't find any information online to tell me otherwise. We arrived at Le Roys bush at about midnight, donned with glow-stick bracelets and necklaces and the light of our mobile phones. As our feet crunched on the gravel, we entered into the darkness. I was feeling OK about this, I could *just* see with the light from my phone and Melissa was leading the way into the darkness. The bush enveloped us as we delved deeper and deeper into it. It started getting dark. Really dark. Darker than before - as the trees were preventing the moonlight from getting through. After about ten minutes of walking, I started to think this whole exercise was an utter waste of time when I finally caught sight of tiny blue lights to my right. Magical doesn't begin to describe the feeling of seeing glow-worms in the darkness. Wow. Melissa had walked a little further ahead and Tristan and I were bending down to get a closer look at the glow-worms hanging from the mud bank. It was then that we simultaneously heard footsteps coming through the bush.
We looked at each other and said 'what's that???' and it went silent. That was it. We were both up and walking towards Melissa - at a fairly fast pace. None of us wanted to be walking at the back and stuck close by to each other for the rest of the time. We had parked my car on Le Roy Terrace... and had originally intended to walk back the way we came. We changed our mind and continued on the path, emerging on Onewa Road. It was totally worth the fear as the glow-worms really were so magical. Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos or video of them - the camera just wouldn't pick it up - but they were AMAZE. If you haven't seen them before - DO IT! It has to be said... we would probably have been petrified of our own shadows after hearing someone else in the bush...
Enjoy a bottle of L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) which is bottled in Paeroa, North Island.
It was ten times classier to have L&P up the Sky Tower in the fancy pants cafe... glasses, ice... nice! He makes a rather good advertising model...
Go RUBBISH BAG SLEDDING at One Tree Hill.
Whilst we were up One Tree Hill, it made perfect sense to take advantage of the steep, grassy hills that surrounded us. We found a perfect patch - we did a quick check for sheep poo and unfolded the black rubbish sacks we had to purchase at 'Z' service station (see letter Z). Melissa decided that she wouldn't have the first turn, so filmed the event. Tristan and I emptied our hands (and pockets) of anything loose, sat on our black rubbish sacks and began the slippery descent down the hill. We didn't get too far. A slight fail. We tried a second time - this time with Tristan on his stomach. It was more hysterical than successful but gave us all a good giggle! If I was to do it again? Perhaps a cardboard box would work better... less wedgie...more slide.
Over pizza, Melissa mentioned Julian the German and how my other friend Melissa (confused yet??) and I had taken this random German (ze luckiest German in ze world!) on an amazing alphabetical adventure around Auckland. If you never saw that, find it here: http://sherbertinlondon.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/julian-german-jaunts-about-auckland.html
It very quickly dawned on me that it would be preposterous for me not to take my new friend Tristan on a trip such as that. And so, 'Tristan's Tantalising Twilight Trip' was born. We picked him up at 3.10pm on Saturday the 10th of March. And dropped him home again at approximately 1.25am on Sunday the 11th of March. It surely was a solid effort, and one Melissa and I are somewhat proud of. There are a lot of videos here... prepare to wet yourself laughing. Welcome to Tristan's Tantalising Twilight Trip.
Get somebody’s AUTOGRAPH on an APRON.
This we did well into the evening. I revealed the amazing Kiwiana apron to Tristan as we sat with a sheesha pipe on Karangahape Road. He admired it briefly as he imagined donning it to prepare a BBQ or two. (I made that up. It sounded good though!). With a marker pen in hand he approached one of the waiting staff at the sheesha place and asked for his autograph. Of course this meant that we had to explain, in a nut-shell, why on earth we wanted his autograph, but he was happy enough to give it once he knew what the purpose was. I thought that task would end there... Mel had other ideas! She thought perhaps Tristan should get more people to autograph it. We couldn't have planned it better, but a little further on we found a group of girls out on a Hen's night who were more than happy to sign his apron. He then didn't want to take it off... a few people assumed he was out on his stag night which made it *much* more acceptable for him to wear the apron in public.
Drive to BASTION POINT and drink in the panoramic view.
This was actually the very first thing we did on our A-Z list. It was incredibly busy and there were a number of Brides and Bridesmaids wandering around - we were very lucky to find anywhere to park. We didn't go and befriend a bride this time, but we did have an opportunity to drink in the glorious view. I love Auckland. We even found a random stranger to take our photo. You will see we are wearing Beanies. on Julian the German's Jaunt about Auckland we wore ponchos. There is something quite awesome about wearing a so-called uniform. People are much more accepting of madness. Turns out it was far too hot for beanies... but we tried!
Play CHARADES with a stranger, to a well-known Kiwi song "Six months in a leaky boat"
I am not sure if you have ever tried playing charades... let alone playing charades in a new country with a complete stranger - to a song you have never even heard. This is precisely what we had Tristan do, with a little help from Melissa. After we had gained permission to film this event, Tristan and Melissa got started on charades. The Kiwi song title is 'Six months in a leaky boat', a song by the awesome Split Enz, written in the best year in history, 1982. Why? Because I was born that year. That's why. I won't give too much away, but this lady (who sadly I forget the name of...) was an AWESOME sport!
DRIVE along Tamaki Drive, Mission Bay and listen to DAVE DOBBYN’S ‘Loyal’ – a Kiwi classic!
We didn't film any of this... and the only way I can sort of prove we did this is to include some pics of the views along Tamaki Drive... yes... that is Rangitoto Island off in the distance on the second photo!
EAT a lamington - a famous Kiwi cake.
So, Wikipedia claim that this is an Australian treat... but NZ claim it to be theirs. It really is confusing... it seems an argument along the same lines of Pavlova! For the non Kiwi/Australian reader, a lamington is a sponge cake in the shape of a cuboid, coated in a layer of chocolate icing (traditionally) and then coated in desiccated coconut. NOM. The raspberry variety is allegedly more common in NZ - and this was the flavour we found in the cafe up the Sky Tower. It has to be said that this was a rather fancy lamington... a rolled lamington with long strand coconut and filled with raspberry mousse. But you get the idea. This is not the best photo... so if you're confused about what a lamington (traditionally) looks like, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington
Devour some FISH AND CHIPS
We opted for Al & Pete's Fish and Chips shop in Parnell so that we could take them and devour them in the Auckland Museum grounds. Al & Pete's have been in business there for 36 years - so the Fish & Chips had to be good... and they didn't disappoint! Tristan even got to try some Kumara chips which he admitted were quite good. We ended up having a picnic outside the museum... although not long after we had sat down, we had some visitors. Melissa felt it would be rude not to share our meal, so gave them some. Which only encouraged more members of the family to come along. Oh my!
So, Wikipedia claim that this is an Australian treat... but NZ claim it to be theirs. It really is confusing... it seems an argument along the same lines of Pavlova! For the non Kiwi/Australian reader, a lamington is a sponge cake in the shape of a cuboid, coated in a layer of chocolate icing (traditionally) and then coated in desiccated coconut. NOM. The raspberry variety is allegedly more common in NZ - and this was the flavour we found in the cafe up the Sky Tower. It has to be said that this was a rather fancy lamington... a rolled lamington with long strand coconut and filled with raspberry mousse. But you get the idea. This is not the best photo... so if you're confused about what a lamington (traditionally) looks like, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamington
Devour some FISH AND CHIPS
We opted for Al & Pete's Fish and Chips shop in Parnell so that we could take them and devour them in the Auckland Museum grounds. Al & Pete's have been in business there for 36 years - so the Fish & Chips had to be good... and they didn't disappoint! Tristan even got to try some Kumara chips which he admitted were quite good. We ended up having a picnic outside the museum... although not long after we had sat down, we had some visitors. Melissa felt it would be rude not to share our meal, so gave them some. Which only encouraged more members of the family to come along. Oh my!
Explore the GLOW WORMS in Le Roys bush – Leroy Terrace, Birkenhead.
I had heard about these Glow Worms in Birkenhead. I wasn't sure if they were only around at certain times of the year, and couldn't find any information online to tell me otherwise. We arrived at Le Roys bush at about midnight, donned with glow-stick bracelets and necklaces and the light of our mobile phones. As our feet crunched on the gravel, we entered into the darkness. I was feeling OK about this, I could *just* see with the light from my phone and Melissa was leading the way into the darkness. The bush enveloped us as we delved deeper and deeper into it. It started getting dark. Really dark. Darker than before - as the trees were preventing the moonlight from getting through. After about ten minutes of walking, I started to think this whole exercise was an utter waste of time when I finally caught sight of tiny blue lights to my right. Magical doesn't begin to describe the feeling of seeing glow-worms in the darkness. Wow. Melissa had walked a little further ahead and Tristan and I were bending down to get a closer look at the glow-worms hanging from the mud bank. It was then that we simultaneously heard footsteps coming through the bush.
We looked at each other and said 'what's that???' and it went silent. That was it. We were both up and walking towards Melissa - at a fairly fast pace. None of us wanted to be walking at the back and stuck close by to each other for the rest of the time. We had parked my car on Le Roy Terrace... and had originally intended to walk back the way we came. We changed our mind and continued on the path, emerging on Onewa Road. It was totally worth the fear as the glow-worms really were so magical. Unfortunately I couldn't get any photos or video of them - the camera just wouldn't pick it up - but they were AMAZE. If you haven't seen them before - DO IT! It has to be said... we would probably have been petrified of our own shadows after hearing someone else in the bush...
HAVE several groups of people introduce Tristan's Tantalising Twilight Trip.
This was a Melissa brainwave - and what a brainwave it was! It was entertaining and a challenge to get people to do this - because it meant explaining what we were actually doing and also it meant that they were going to be on film saying something. Most people asked if it was going to be on the internet. We said no. Whoops. I have discovered a slight problem. I realised we forgot to do the last clip... 'trip'... so, imagine it finishes with a short clip of a random stranger saying 'trip'. Good.
Go to princes wharf I-SITE and find other cool things to see and do for Tristan whilst he is in Auckland.
After paying an exorbitant amount of money to park in the Viaduct, we ventured to the i-site. Tristan was in attraction brochure heaven. So. Many. Brochures. He left the building with plenty of reading material... and hundreds of ideas of things to do whilst he is living in NZ.
This was a Melissa brainwave - and what a brainwave it was! It was entertaining and a challenge to get people to do this - because it meant explaining what we were actually doing and also it meant that they were going to be on film saying something. Most people asked if it was going to be on the internet. We said no. Whoops. I have discovered a slight problem. I realised we forgot to do the last clip... 'trip'... so, imagine it finishes with a short clip of a random stranger saying 'trip'. Good.
Go to princes wharf I-SITE and find other cool things to see and do for Tristan whilst he is in Auckland.
After paying an exorbitant amount of money to park in the Viaduct, we ventured to the i-site. Tristan was in attraction brochure heaven. So. Many. Brochures. He left the building with plenty of reading material... and hundreds of ideas of things to do whilst he is living in NZ.
JUMP off something.
Did we find something cool to jump off? Yeah we did! In fact - it was perfect. After we ate our fish and chips there was a random stranger passing by (Kate) who was more than happy to photograph us jumping. She was an outstanding photographer. Jeez people are so friendly!!!
Did we find something cool to jump off? Yeah we did! In fact - it was perfect. After we ate our fish and chips there was a random stranger passing by (Kate) who was more than happy to photograph us jumping. She was an outstanding photographer. Jeez people are so friendly!!!
Walk along KARANGAHAPE ROAD, Auckland – our ‘red light’ street and be sure to get a photo with some signage! This was harder than we thought... we couldn't even find a street sign although did find an advertising cylinder (I totally made that name up...) and further down the road we found a post-party bus stop which had Karangahape Road on it. They sufficed.
Enjoy a bottle of L&P (Lemon and Paeroa) which is bottled in Paeroa, North Island.
It was ten times classier to have L&P up the Sky Tower in the fancy pants cafe... glasses, ice... nice! He makes a rather good advertising model...
Have a photo taken outside the Auckland MUSEUM.
We well and truly went to the museum. We fed the local roaches (see letter F), we jumped off and on to bollards *and* we did a wheel barrow race in the grounds (can it still be a race even if there's only one wheelbarrow?) The Auckland War Memorial Museum really is one of Auckland's beautiful historical buildings - especially at night.
We well and truly went to the museum. We fed the local roaches (see letter F), we jumped off and on to bollards *and* we did a wheel barrow race in the grounds (can it still be a race even if there's only one wheelbarrow?) The Auckland War Memorial Museum really is one of Auckland's beautiful historical buildings - especially at night.
Explore the NIGHT MARKETS at Westfield Pakuranga (open til midnight) and buy something.
Melissa and I live in Auckland. We had NO idea that this night market existed and came across it only by fluke when searching for 'stuff to do in Auckland'. It was AWESOME. It was unfortunate that we had already eaten because there must have been a hundred food stalls. We lost ourselves amongst the 'tack' stalls (oops, I mean treasure!) We even convinced Tristan to try feijoa juice. Feijoas, to those who are not 'in-the-know' are a tree fruit also known as pineapple guava (woo - I just learned something new!) Apparently the trees grow in the highlands of Southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Northern Argentina. Somehow, miraculously, they made it to NZ and grow all around the country. They are green in colour, chicken-egg sized and shaped like an ellipse. The flavour is sweet yet tart and they have a gritty texture - they are not everybody's cup of tea. They have a very distinctive taste. Tristan said he liked it. Although he could have been being polite.
Drive to the top of ONE TREE HILL and admire the view.
We were wondering for most of the day if the weather was going to hold or not. Thankfully, it held - and we could see an amazing 360 degree view of Auckland City. Amazing. I was sad to see that my sister and my handy-work in the rocks for her birthday adventure four weeks before had now changed. (see 'R' from her birthday adventure http://sherbertinlondon.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/beckys-brilliant-birthday-adventure.html) But on the upside- we did find an amazing tree. Like a tree you can imagine might be on a movie like The Lord of the Rings or similar. We *had* to climb down to get a closer look and were stoked we did - it was even more awesome up close! This explains why Tristan looks like he has just come out of a coal mine...
PLAY an old school game: A wheelbarrow race.
And where better to do this very thing? It was well-dark by the time we got around to this task... and it is is quite tricky to see that we are in fact doing a wheelbarrow race. I'm unsure if you can call it a race if there is only one wheelbarrow? It is fair to mention here that we had just finished gorging on fish and chips - so I was impressed with Tristan's speed... I almost couldn't keep up!
Melissa and I live in Auckland. We had NO idea that this night market existed and came across it only by fluke when searching for 'stuff to do in Auckland'. It was AWESOME. It was unfortunate that we had already eaten because there must have been a hundred food stalls. We lost ourselves amongst the 'tack' stalls (oops, I mean treasure!) We even convinced Tristan to try feijoa juice. Feijoas, to those who are not 'in-the-know' are a tree fruit also known as pineapple guava (woo - I just learned something new!) Apparently the trees grow in the highlands of Southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Northern Argentina. Somehow, miraculously, they made it to NZ and grow all around the country. They are green in colour, chicken-egg sized and shaped like an ellipse. The flavour is sweet yet tart and they have a gritty texture - they are not everybody's cup of tea. They have a very distinctive taste. Tristan said he liked it. Although he could have been being polite.
Drive to the top of ONE TREE HILL and admire the view.
We were wondering for most of the day if the weather was going to hold or not. Thankfully, it held - and we could see an amazing 360 degree view of Auckland City. Amazing. I was sad to see that my sister and my handy-work in the rocks for her birthday adventure four weeks before had now changed. (see 'R' from her birthday adventure http://sherbertinlondon.blogspot.co.nz/2012/02/beckys-brilliant-birthday-adventure.html) But on the upside- we did find an amazing tree. Like a tree you can imagine might be on a movie like The Lord of the Rings or similar. We *had* to climb down to get a closer look and were stoked we did - it was even more awesome up close! This explains why Tristan looks like he has just come out of a coal mine...
PLAY an old school game: A wheelbarrow race.
And where better to do this very thing? It was well-dark by the time we got around to this task... and it is is quite tricky to see that we are in fact doing a wheelbarrow race. I'm unsure if you can call it a race if there is only one wheelbarrow? It is fair to mention here that we had just finished gorging on fish and chips - so I was impressed with Tristan's speed... I almost couldn't keep up!
Drive down QUEEN STREET and find five interesting things to take photos of.
This was tricky. We just didn't see enough that we deemed to be interesting. But on driving around the central city we did see some rather interesting people at bus stops. So opted to take photos of them instead. Hopefully they never, ever stumble across this blog... but here goes...
Our sightings got even more awesome as time went on. It all started with a guy who looked to be sleeping whilst sitting up in the bus stop - and then, would you believe it, we saw Noah and his wife! We had been telling Tristan how Kiwi's like their pies - and what did we see next but a fully kitted out Maori, sitting in a bus bench eating a pie. Ultimate LOL! I think Tristan thought this kind of thing happened all the time. It has to be said - it was a first for me to see that! The last photo may or may not be someone I know...
This was tricky. We just didn't see enough that we deemed to be interesting. But on driving around the central city we did see some rather interesting people at bus stops. So opted to take photos of them instead. Hopefully they never, ever stumble across this blog... but here goes...
Our sightings got even more awesome as time went on. It all started with a guy who looked to be sleeping whilst sitting up in the bus stop - and then, would you believe it, we saw Noah and his wife! We had been telling Tristan how Kiwi's like their pies - and what did we see next but a fully kitted out Maori, sitting in a bus bench eating a pie. Ultimate LOL! I think Tristan thought this kind of thing happened all the time. It has to be said - it was a first for me to see that! The last photo may or may not be someone I know...
Go RUBBISH BAG SLEDDING at One Tree Hill.
Whilst we were up One Tree Hill, it made perfect sense to take advantage of the steep, grassy hills that surrounded us. We found a perfect patch - we did a quick check for sheep poo and unfolded the black rubbish sacks we had to purchase at 'Z' service station (see letter Z). Melissa decided that she wouldn't have the first turn, so filmed the event. Tristan and I emptied our hands (and pockets) of anything loose, sat on our black rubbish sacks and began the slippery descent down the hill. We didn't get too far. A slight fail. We tried a second time - this time with Tristan on his stomach. It was more hysterical than successful but gave us all a good giggle! If I was to do it again? Perhaps a cardboard box would work better... less wedgie...more slide.
Go up the SKY TOWER and view the SUNSET.
Tristan had mentioned the night we all met that he would like to go up the Sky Tower but hadn't made it there yet. (He had only been in NZ for just over a week, so he's forgiven!) Melissa and I decided it might be nice to go up and view the sunset. I haven't been up the Sky Tower in a few years. I liked how in the entrance there was a bunch of Peter Jackson movie memorabilia. An Ork from "Lord of the Rings", King Kong's head, statues of Tin Tin and Snowy amongst other items.
We purchased our tickets and hopped into the lift which took us 182m up to the Sky Lounge cafe and bar (which is where we enjoyed an L&P - see 'L', and a NZ cake - a Lamington). We had a look out of the windows down on Auckland City and tried to get our bearings before deciding to go up a little higher. Back into the lift we went and climbed up to 220m Sky Deck. The views from here were incredible. Back down to the main observation deck, Tristan even braved standing on the glass... with nothing but some air and the road below him... 186m down!
Did you know that at 328 metres tall, the Sky Tower is the 12th tallest tower in the world (taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Sydney's AMP Tower) oooooo, ahhhhh. Did you know that the three glass-fronted elevators can take 225 people to the observation levels every 15 minutes. The elevators travel at 18km per hour and the ride takes only 40 seconds. Learn something new??
Tristan had mentioned the night we all met that he would like to go up the Sky Tower but hadn't made it there yet. (He had only been in NZ for just over a week, so he's forgiven!) Melissa and I decided it might be nice to go up and view the sunset. I haven't been up the Sky Tower in a few years. I liked how in the entrance there was a bunch of Peter Jackson movie memorabilia. An Ork from "Lord of the Rings", King Kong's head, statues of Tin Tin and Snowy amongst other items.
We purchased our tickets and hopped into the lift which took us 182m up to the Sky Lounge cafe and bar (which is where we enjoyed an L&P - see 'L', and a NZ cake - a Lamington). We had a look out of the windows down on Auckland City and tried to get our bearings before deciding to go up a little higher. Back into the lift we went and climbed up to 220m Sky Deck. The views from here were incredible. Back down to the main observation deck, Tristan even braved standing on the glass... with nothing but some air and the road below him... 186m down!
Did you know that at 328 metres tall, the Sky Tower is the 12th tallest tower in the world (taller than the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Sydney's AMP Tower) oooooo, ahhhhh. Did you know that the three glass-fronted elevators can take 225 people to the observation levels every 15 minutes. The elevators travel at 18km per hour and the ride takes only 40 seconds. Learn something new??
Have a go at TURKISH SHESHA smoking.
Melissa chose the 'best' flavour of double strawberry and Tristan showed off his flash ability to be able to blow smoke rings... impressive.
Melissa chose the 'best' flavour of double strawberry and Tristan showed off his flash ability to be able to blow smoke rings... impressive.
Play UNDER THE SEA on the air-xylophone outside Kelly Tarlton's.
This was the second task that we completed and I wondered how Tristan would react to it, being that we hardly knew him and were unsure if he would be game enough to do something so nuts. We were stoked to learn that he was more than happy to act crazy, provided he didn't have to do it alone. Melissa and I can never resist a bit of silliness...or Disney. I set my camera up and pushed play on the music and we did the whole thing, only to learn that the camera didn't record! I brushed that off and explained that sometimes a dress rehearsal is called for. I think that we were way more awesome the second time around... my favourite part of this video is that the people in the car are not even looking our direction at how silly we are being... gold.
This was the second task that we completed and I wondered how Tristan would react to it, being that we hardly knew him and were unsure if he would be game enough to do something so nuts. We were stoked to learn that he was more than happy to act crazy, provided he didn't have to do it alone. Melissa and I can never resist a bit of silliness...or Disney. I set my camera up and pushed play on the music and we did the whole thing, only to learn that the camera didn't record! I brushed that off and explained that sometimes a dress rehearsal is called for. I think that we were way more awesome the second time around... my favourite part of this video is that the people in the car are not even looking our direction at how silly we are being... gold.
VISIT the VIADUCT and have a photo with a boat.
Boat, shmoat. We found us a jet ski and a German who was happy to take the photo. #WINNING. There was even some sculptures of fish down there - one of them was made entirely out of jandals and flippers that had been washed ashore and collected over a period of time. So cool!
Boat, shmoat. We found us a jet ski and a German who was happy to take the photo. #WINNING. There was even some sculptures of fish down there - one of them was made entirely out of jandals and flippers that had been washed ashore and collected over a period of time. So cool!
Re-enact the Ministry of silly WALKS on a zebra crossing.
We were supposed to go to WYNYARD QUARTER, lie on the benches and find the Southern Cross in the stars. The clouds in the skies indicated otherwise! So... we used our 'we reserve the right to change anything in the adventure' and instead reenacted the Ministry of Silly Walks (insert Monty Python music here...) on a zebra crossing. We filmed each other... and when I was being filmed (I went last) someone was walking up the street and totally GOT what we were doing... Melissa screamed at him to come on down and film us all silly walking together and he did. His name was Ronen - and he was awesome. But not as awesome as our silly walks, which were epicly awesome.
We were supposed to go to WYNYARD QUARTER, lie on the benches and find the Southern Cross in the stars. The clouds in the skies indicated otherwise! So... we used our 'we reserve the right to change anything in the adventure' and instead reenacted the Ministry of Silly Walks (insert Monty Python music here...) on a zebra crossing. We filmed each other... and when I was being filmed (I went last) someone was walking up the street and totally GOT what we were doing... Melissa screamed at him to come on down and film us all silly walking together and he did. His name was Ronen - and he was awesome. But not as awesome as our silly walks, which were epicly awesome.
X marks the spot - find the package, which you will need to use for ‘Y’.
This was pretty funny. Melissa had an epic brainwave with the task we could complete in 'Y'. We had to hide something for Tristan to find before we could go and have our yuppie wanky coffee on Ponsonby Road at SPQR. I hid the treasure, and played 'warmer, colder' with Tristan until he found his treasure. Digging his walk at the beginning on this video...
This was pretty funny. Melissa had an epic brainwave with the task we could complete in 'Y'. We had to hide something for Tristan to find before we could go and have our yuppie wanky coffee on Ponsonby Road at SPQR. I hid the treasure, and played 'warmer, colder' with Tristan until he found his treasure. Digging his walk at the beginning on this video...
Enjoy a YUPPIE WANKY COFFEE on Ponsonby Road (SPQR) while wearing sunglasses and have a tea party. It’s such a ‘posh Auckland’ thing to do.
Clearly we are not the right sort of class for SPQR as we were looked up and down on more than one occasion and clearly judged by other patrons. As we walked in, I recognised a man sitting out the front of the cafe enjoying a vino. I later remembered where I had seen him before, having played Craig Valentine on Shortland Street (a Kiwi medical drama on TV). Anyway, we ordered our coffee, and waited about 15 minutes for it to arrive. As we waited for its arrival, we set up our tea set that Tristan had found in Western Park (see 'X') and took some photos. During this time, Melissa ducked out of the place to take a photo of the sign at the front to prove we had been to SPQR. She was using my camera, and had no real idea of how to use the zoom function so took a photo of the whole front of the building thinking I could crop it later. Right she was - I could. But what did I spy on inspection of the photos? That actor from Shortland Street, Renato Bartolomei. Giving Melissa the one-fingered salute. How rude!! As if we even really wanted a photo of him anyway!
Finally our coffees arrived and we started using a teaspoon to put some coffee into our miniature tea cups. We had a lovely waitress who was more than happy to photograph us all having a tea party at SPQR - she even moved our actual coffee cups so that in the photo it looked like all we had was the tiny tea set. Ace.
Clearly we are not the right sort of class for SPQR as we were looked up and down on more than one occasion and clearly judged by other patrons. As we walked in, I recognised a man sitting out the front of the cafe enjoying a vino. I later remembered where I had seen him before, having played Craig Valentine on Shortland Street (a Kiwi medical drama on TV). Anyway, we ordered our coffee, and waited about 15 minutes for it to arrive. As we waited for its arrival, we set up our tea set that Tristan had found in Western Park (see 'X') and took some photos. During this time, Melissa ducked out of the place to take a photo of the sign at the front to prove we had been to SPQR. She was using my camera, and had no real idea of how to use the zoom function so took a photo of the whole front of the building thinking I could crop it later. Right she was - I could. But what did I spy on inspection of the photos? That actor from Shortland Street, Renato Bartolomei. Giving Melissa the one-fingered salute. How rude!! As if we even really wanted a photo of him anyway!
Finally our coffees arrived and we started using a teaspoon to put some coffee into our miniature tea cups. We had a lovely waitress who was more than happy to photograph us all having a tea party at SPQR - she even moved our actual coffee cups so that in the photo it looked like all we had was the tiny tea set. Ace.
Go to a Z SERVICE STATION (which is a new Kiwi franchise) and have a photo taken with a staff member.
It made sense that we did something different to Julian the German's adventure (taking a photo at the Zoo) and we decided that going to a Z service station (the old Shell!) and having a photo taken with a staff member would be perfect. Z is a new Kiwi Franchise... But is it Zed... or Zee...???? We arrived at Z, needing to purchase rubbish bags in order to go Rubbish Bag Sledding (see 'R') and asked the man behind the counter if we could please take a photo of him and Tristan... to which he replied 'No, we aren't allowed to take photos'. With hearts held heavy, we walked towards the door, exited and saw a floor-court man in uniform. We approached him and explained our awesome adventure... and he was happy to have a photo taken. Success!!!
So, there it is. Yet another adventure bites the dust. I have made a new friend and even found new things to do in Auckland, the big-little city. I hope you cracked a smile.
Cheery bye :)
It made sense that we did something different to Julian the German's adventure (taking a photo at the Zoo) and we decided that going to a Z service station (the old Shell!) and having a photo taken with a staff member would be perfect. Z is a new Kiwi Franchise... But is it Zed... or Zee...???? We arrived at Z, needing to purchase rubbish bags in order to go Rubbish Bag Sledding (see 'R') and asked the man behind the counter if we could please take a photo of him and Tristan... to which he replied 'No, we aren't allowed to take photos'. With hearts held heavy, we walked towards the door, exited and saw a floor-court man in uniform. We approached him and explained our awesome adventure... and he was happy to have a photo taken. Success!!!
So, there it is. Yet another adventure bites the dust. I have made a new friend and even found new things to do in Auckland, the big-little city. I hope you cracked a smile.
Cheery bye :)
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