In my last post I added a few photos that illustrated Auckland’s strange weather patterns, since then the weather has gone haywire and goes through 4 seasons in one typical day. Honestly I can’t keep up and I have no idea what is going to happen so I thought I would add in a few discoveries I have made to hopefully make the transition to Auckland weather more manageable.
The do’s and dont’s of surviving Auckland weather:
- DO wear clothing that caters for Winter, Summer, Autumn and Spring- so many times this year I have looked out my window and seen the sun shining down so I will wear shorts and a t-shirt to class. This happened last week and by the time I left my lecture I was caught in a down pour.
- DON’T see the rain and dress up in 3 layers of winter clothing- rewind to last month and I was also caught in this trap. Just as Auckland changes from sunshine to rain in one hour it will change from a freezing, raining morning to sweltering midday! So my number one tip to surviving Auckland is to dress in a way that caters for all weather, always bring a jacket no matter how hot it is because I like many others have been caught in countless downpours and there is nothing more off-putting than going to a lecture soaking wet
- DON’T put off going out in the sunshine until later because more often that not there will be no later. Want to get that study done and go out in the sunshine later? great thinking but it is likely there will be no sunshine later so seize the sunshine while you can and study later, or study in the sunshine (I can’t but it’s a great idea)
- DO have a look on social media or talk to other Auckland inhabitants about nice places to go- if you’re like me one of the most dramatic changes about Auckland is being so far away from nature. And like most first years its so hard to discover outdoor places. Instagram has a few ideas but some of my favourite places I have ventured to this year are=
- Winter garden Auckland domain
- Mt Eden (at sunrise or sunset, or nighttime to see all the city lights)
- Oakley creek waterfall
- Archilles Point Mission Bay
- Muriwai Beach
- Mt Victoria- Devonport
- Piha
- Bethels
Piha
note= these places are all over the show around auckland and so this list may take a while to complete
The do’s and dont’s of Auckland food:
- DON’T live off hall food- trust me I know all about the student budget, but if you save all of your small amount of spending money up you can escape hall food for a meal and trust me you will not regret it
- DON’T expect hall food to be the same as home food. Mass cooking if you think about cooking for all first year hall of residents how could you possibly compare it to home food (enjoy it while you can)…
- DO go to the supermarket and get fresh fruit and vegetables!!
- DO try these places
Bambina
Best ugly bagels
Casa Del Gelato