The Kindness of Connections, Part 2

Our last two days in Auckland were all about the Edens. First Mt. Eden, and then Glen Eden. The latter is a western suburb of Auckland, accessible by rail. So John and I completed our tour of the public transportation systems of Auckland by using rail transport on our last full day there. CityBus, Bus, Ferry, Rail. Check X 4.

Why Glen Eden? A high school friend of Sarah's (J) lives there now. He married a local (L), and made the move to New Zealand. We connected with him via Sarah, and he and L were so generous with their time. We trained out to Glen Eden, where he picked us up at the rail station and drove us to his home.  J and L live in a beautiful wooden house, sequestered in an extremely private bush setting. L has her own studio: Enter brief moment of envy. Then we all went to see the surrounds. The bush trails are currently closed due to Kauri dieback disease, so they took us on a coastal walk.  And of course,  it was spectacular. We walked along a beach, scrambled over rocks studded with mussels (I'm always worried about crushing them), and found ourselves on a rise over looking this area where the sea comes crashing up a crevice. Video. Sorry, again, if it takes a while to download.

We had lunch at a place near the beach, and headed back home in time to finish up packing. The shuttle arrives at 6a tomorrow morning for the flight to Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand.


One last slightly irresistible note.  I know I've waxed on and on about the exotic bird life (and the flora) in Oceania. But one inescapable fact remains: The English Sparrow wins the prize for most ubiquitous, and presumably most adaptable of all of the bird species. We have seen these little guys everywhere we go, be it tropical or temperate, wet or dry. And honestly, I find them rather beautiful. Varying shades of brown and gray, layered and layered.Subtle. I think if they weren't so common, other folks might find them beautiful too.

English Sparrows are Everywhere.