February Week 58 2016

I had the day off Monday (!) so Michael and I spent the day in Piha with friends where we explored a few beautiful (and isolated) caves, saw a sting ray (and tons of starfish and crabs), and played in the waves with our borrowed boogie boards. On Wednesday morning we left for Wanderlust (a yoga and music festival) in Taupo that we were volunteering at. Our first shift was Wednesday afternoon and we helped to set things up since the official start was Thursday. Thursday was our designated day off (the day we got a free ticket in exchange for volunteering) and both Michael and I went to some amazing classes. His favorite was a backbend class with Duncan Peak and mine was an adjustment workshop with Maty Ezraty. That evening we went for a swim in the lake (I love the ocean but it felt soo good to swim in fresh water again). On Friday we worked in the café, which was a major score compared to most of the other volunteer jobs. Taupo is a hotbed of geothermal activity so we went to some natural hot springs that day as well. Saturday I snuck into a couple classes and then Michael and I worked another shift at the café. Friday and Saturday night we also stuck around for some sweet music.

Sunday morning we drove back up to Auckland and moved. We now live in a house with between ten and fifteen other people (who are also international). It’s a big house with lots of bathrooms and two big refrigerators and our room is bigger than the entirety of our last apartment. We also live in a different suburb; Mount Eden. Our new neighborhood is really nice so we’re happy, but exhausted after such a busy week.