Auckland & Bruno Mars

This week I spent a few days in Auckland, a really really busy city. I mean, I'm glad I did not get stuck in any rush hour traffic because driving through it normally is just hectic! I really love city living though..I would need to as I'll be living in Glasgow for the next few years come September!

The one thing I love about big cities is the wide wide range of shops, bars and restaurants. We did a mini pub crawl, going from bar to bar and ending up at a bar at sky city, where they charge $10 for the smallest glass of "Spanish" wine! Turned out to be quite a hilarious night!

I did quite a bit of shopping while up in Auckland..I feel like I have hardly any clothes at all since I had to pack so light! So I'm adding to my NZ wardrobe bit by bit :)

I decided that I needed new foundation so wanted to try some Mac cosmetics because when I watch beauty YouTube videos, a lot of people put their trust in Mac products and I'd never actually tried it before! Also, Elle loves her Studio Fix foundation, so I thought i would give it a try.

*(This could end up turning into a beauty blog as well!!)*

Studio Fix Foundation NC15

Pro Longwear Concealer NC15

I got a colour match done and when I first looked in the mirror, I just thought "oh dearr..I look sooo pale!" I do have quite pale skin but it looked ghostly..until she put the blusher and bronzer on. Then I loved it..so I got the foundation and the concealer in the same shade to save me searching around for a match. I didnt intend on spending just as much..as Mac is way more expensive here in NZ than at home in the UK!

So the actual reason we went to Auckland in the first place was to see the beautiful Bruno Mars! This guy has some serious talent, and he was just perfect live. A real crowd pleaser! I respect artists that have come from nothing, trying their hardest to make it, and get discovered after working so hard. Bruno Mars started out in bars, and said "do you guys mind if we do what we used to do..and just play a little whatever for 3 minutes..?"

He started into Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana...mixing that into Billy Jean by Michael Jackson and then Seven Nation Army by The Whitestripes. It was a pretty impressive remix!

So overall it was an amazing concert, and a really great few days in Auckland. I can't wait to go back up for a few more days for shopping and clubbing with Elle as well :D

Week Two

At the beginning of this week I took a walk in the Redwoods where I got to see more of the beauutiful picture-perfect views that i loove! The views in New Zealand really do seem to be endless.

Impressive views like this one are just a simple walk away, and I really don't get this at home right on the doorstep of where I'm staying like I do here!


One thing I love to do is swimming. we went to the Blue Lake on Tuesday which was just another perfectly untouched place. However, I didn't do much swimming as again, the water was just soo cold! So I swam quickly to the platform you can kindof see in the photo and lay out in the sun..only to realise I had to jump back in after warming up to swim back again!! The next day Vincent and I went back to Mount Maunganui where I tried body boarding..which also proved quite unsuccessful! Even when I was just standing still the waves knocked me off of my feet!
But hey, I gave it a shot! That's one thing about me. I'll try everything at least once!

Another wee thing I've tried here is to eat as much dessert as I can in one sitting... AKA Death By Chocolate. Yum...There was chocolate pudding, chocolate mousse, chocolate tart, chocolate spring rolls and ice cream too. Thankfully shared between two otherwise I'd be the size of a house!!

On Friday I went to a wildlife park where they had lions and all sorts of animals. We arrived just in time to see the lions being fed. One of the staff literally threw chunks of meat over the fence. Sounds disgusting, but was really very impressing! She had a perfect throw and aim so the lions either didn't have to move at all, or just jumped up to catch it in their mouths!! I also was able to pet a lion cub..eeek! It was 18months old so already getting quite big.

Good Catch!

Good Kitty!

Whenever I was younger..Bambi was my favourite Disney movie..so it was pretty cool when I got to feed the cutest of deer!
But amongst all the animals in the whole park the one animal that stood out to me was a wallaby.
They are theee cutest ever! They ate right out of our hands and poked their little noses out of the fence.
I was verryyyy tempted to take one home :D

Week One

I'm quite late in starting this blog, as I arrived in NZ on 4th April!

Anyhow, as you can imagine..travelling to New Zealand on your own is quite a daunting challenge. As I was dropping my bag off in Belfast airport my mum spotted her friend's daughter who lived in NZ for a year and was travelling on the same flight as me to Heathrow! So we got seats together and chatted all about NZ for that flight..it was soo reassuring and definitely gave me some encouragement!

All is well!

Upon arriving in Auckland, I felt super nervous. Walking out of arrivals looking for Vincent who was collecting me, walking out of the airport to just feel the heat hit me after a long winter was BLISS!

The next day, my new nz best friend Elle (you can find her on here at Ellary's Place, my beauty guru! www.ellarysplace.blogspot.com) showed me about Rotorua, the town which is my base for the next while. It was great getting to spend time with her and getting to know her! <3



So on Wednesday Vincent and I visited Mount Maunganui. If there is one place in the world that is perfect, this has got to be it! Beautiful houses, the pacific ocean, a mount which i climbed!

I did it!

Seeing the sunset behind the mount

I've seen so much beautiful scenery while being here including a place called Hamurana Springs. This is where i jumped into a stream off of a bridge into FREEZING cold water! It was worth it though but soo cold! Especially when the autumn of NZ is beginning rather than the summer.

To round off a great first week..Elle and I went out on Saturday night to a bar called Lavas. It was a good first night out in New Zealand. One out of many more to come!

6foot and 5foot3 <3

Getting Ready To Go

So amongst the important things to prepare for when you have only 2 weeks notice before going to New Zealand for 5 months, there's got to be some parties!

I worked in a pharmacy for 3 and a half years before travelling so we went out to my favourite Italian restaurant, Zios' for some yummy food!

The A-Team

My best friend Laura aka twin / sister / other tall person (im 6ft and she's 6ft2, we're often asked if we're sisters!) threw me a goodbye party. She put in a lot of effort with black and white balloons for the All Blacks, a 'Kia Ora' sign and a chocolate cake with 'Good Luck' on it too!

Sisters

So this and lots more helped me prepare for my big trip. Everyone was very kind and generous giving me good luck cards and presents! :D