It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon while I rest at “home” (aka – our 2nd Airbnb where we will stay until we move into our official home in Milford on Oct. 17th). What started as a sore throat has turned into a nasty chest cold (or something viral), leaving me feeling achy and fatigued.

The changing of seasons have always triggered sickness for me, my immune system weak from fighting my allergies, leaving me with a runny nose and cough. But while our friends and family in the States welcome the arrival of crisp Autumn air and falling leaves, signs of the beloved “sweater weather,” here in NZ we’re embracing warmer temperatures, blossoming flowers and the arrival of Spring.

Growing up, Spring was always my least favorite season, with unpredictable temperatures, brown grass, dead plants, and piles of dirty snow melting into mud. As I’ve grown older though, I’ve learned to love the small signs of life that push through the muck of winter, striving to find the light of the sun’s rays and bring color to the world after months of grey and white. Spring represents a time of rebirth, renewal and new beginnings – something our family can certainly relate to.

Three weeks into our NZ life, we are slowly finding our way through the muck of relocating overseas. It seems with each passing week, the fogginess of the move fades a bit more as we grow more comfortable in our surroundings. Though we continue to struggle with feelings of homesickness and missing our loved ones back home, we’re becoming more confident and learning to thrive in our new community.

This week, our newfound confidence encouraged us to brave our greatest fear yet – buying a car and learning to drive on the left side of the road. After one visit to Turners – “New Zealand’s Largest Used Car Dealer!” – a quick test drive around the neighborhood, and a very efficient purchasing process, we became new owners of a 2023 Toyota Rav4 SXE Hybrid. Unlike the greasy, car dealership expectations of the States, we not only quickly purchased a vehicle at a very reasonable cost, but as Austin finalized the paperwork, I was able to sign us up for auto-insurance online and in less than 15-minutes.

As Austin drove us home from the dealership, we laughed at the ridiculousness of what we had just done. We hadn’t even rented a vehicle and attempted to drive on the left hand side before jumping in head first – probably not too surprising to those around us, who watched us move to a country we had never even visited. So with zero experience, Austin merged onto the motorway in rush hour traffic, white knuckling the wheel with a smile on his face (or as the picture below shows…a grimace!)

On Friday, feeling ambitious with our new car, we decided to take our first road trip to the black sand beaches adorning Auckland’s West coast. Driving through Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, we navigated narrow, winding roads, spotting pastures with sheep along the way.

Arriving at Piha Beach an hour later, we walked along the shoreline, mesmerized by the glittering black sand that sparkled in the sunshine. The waves crashed along Lion Rock, Piha’s most iconic landmark, creating a misty fog that drifted along the tops of the cliffs. We dipped our feet in the water, running back up the beach to avoid getting too wet, surprised by the powerful tide’s reach.

After a bit of exploring, we packed up our beach picnic, chasing away the curious seagulls, and made our way back through the town of Piha to a path where we hiked through a forest to Kitekite Falls. At the start of the forest, we were prompted to disinfect our shoes before entering, a common practice in NZ to help stop the spread of a Kauri dieback, a disease that infects and kills the native kauri trees.

Hiking along a path through the natural bush (or tramping as the Kiwis call it), we made our way up the mountain, crossing a stream and up a “gradual” incline, revealing the majestic Kitekite Falls. The pictures we snapped hardly do justice to the beauty of the water that fell around us, as if the earth was reminding us to put away our phones and just enjoy the moment for what it was – magical.

Walking back through the forest and on our way home, we tried our best to instill in Larsen the significance of the day we spent together. People spend their lives saving enough money to visit places like Piha Beach and Kitekite Falls, and we have the privilege of living just a short drive away from remarkable landmarks such as these.

When the weight of the world gets too heavy, and the grief of losing our life back home brings us down, I’m grateful for days like these and the promise of many more road trips to come.