We couldn't look for a flat until we had jobs, so to pass some time whilst we looked, we organized a housesit - our first (and to date, last) in NZ. It was halfway between Taupo and Rotorua, so a nice way to do some site-seeing.
It was very rural (we saw petrol for $1.60, whereas in Auckland it was $2.30 so this was rather spectacular). The housesit was also very strange, and that's without taking the pet emu into account. Apparently, the emu had once escaped and they had to chase it down the main road. Happily this did not happen when we were housesitting.
The owners were lovely, but boy did they love to talk. We soon learned that the husband had built their coffins in advance which were currently being used as bookshelves (how, enterprising?) and he really, really liked trains. Like really liked trains.
Finally, we escaped the train lecture, train museum and the working miniature train, and the owners left. We were left to look after a chill cat, a herd of angry cows, and a talkative emu. It was going to be fineeee.
Luckily the countryside was beautiful, and we only had to nervously look over the gates occasionally to check the cows (and emu) were ok, had water, and hadn't escaped.
They also had a wonderful veggie patch and I was able to pick homegrown tomatoes until we were bursting. This was the start of my own personal mission to have my own veggie patch, no matter how long it might take.
Since we were only looking after a cat, we had the freedom to take day trips. We popped over to the Huka falls, where the placid Waikato river turns into a mighty roar, as almost a quarter of a million litres per second erupt from the gorge and fall 11kms below.
Being so close to Rotorua, it seemed a shame not to stop at this geothermic oddity. I highly recommend Kuirua Park, as its free and central. If you don't want to pay, its a great spot to check out the steaming, bubbling, sulfuric geothermal activity.
We also stopped for a meander amongst the mighty Redwoods.
It was drizzling steadily, though somewhat sheltered under the trees, so we only went for a short wander, rather than an epic hike.
During our housesit, Ben interviewed, and was offered a year long contract at Auckland University. Job sorted, I quickly followed, finding a short term temp role working in admin for Auckland Council. February over, we spent March staying with Ben's sister as we settled into our new roles.
A week after starting however, the world changed, as New Zealand went into its first lockdown, due to Covid.
A period of strangeness followed, as we tried to work out our new roles working from 'home'. The two-week planned stay with Ben's sister as we looked for flats suddenly became much longer, as we had no other option. My role didn't last much longer, as the council let go must of their temporary staff.
Still, I kept looking, and as soon as we dropped levels and were able, we viewed a couple of flats, and moved into our first proper home together, the day before Ben's birthday in early May.
Our little apartment in Albany would be home for the next 10 months, through lockdowns and job hunting, it was our little haven. Small, and boiling in the summer, but we loved it nonetheless.
It was modern, and clean, and I loved the kitchen to bits. Plus it had a balcony! We really couldn't complain. It was a perfect first flat.
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