So I’ve been a resident of the North Shore of Auckland for nearly two months now. Is it growing on me? I’m not entirely sure, but there are definitely aspects of this place I like.

Seeing Rangitoto from this side of the water is nice. Particularly when boats and ships meander through the channel. The way the sunlight bounces off the swells does my heart good.

I’m still not a fan of beaches. (Of course, this may due to my stoic inland Palmerston North upbringing). There’s nothing to do on them, and the glare of the sun makes it hard to read books on my iPad. But they do have the moments of pretty.

From a transportation perspective, I’m getting used to it. Lake Rd still sucks immensely, but I’m working out the traffic patterns and how to avoid them. I LOVE being able to catch the ferry from Devonport into the CBD and back again. It’s the way to commute.

However I am a bit grumpy about some people. My car has been hit twice, by two buses, on two separate days whilst parked on Constellation Drive. This makes me sad. Then two days ago, it was hit again, by someone completely failing to work out how to drive in the Devonport New World carpark. My son was in the car at the time and texted me (I have told him after the fact that it would be better if he’d taken car details etc. first which he didn’t). But still. It’s just a thing. Can’t control it. Can’t change it. Moving on…

Devonport is nice too. It has art and history and stuff. It has galleries, the Naval Museum, hills to climb and tunnels to explore. When I get a bike (I’m getting fat apparently and need to do something about it) I’ll be discovering a lot more. And yes, when I get a bike, I promise you won’t see any unsightly lycra-clad bumps and bulges on this guy. Promise.