Saint Marys Bay

At last - I have time to post on the blog! Been a really hectic week this week juggling uni work, socialising and Coastguard training. I'm so glad it's the weekend. Last weekend I did my Coastguard VHF radio training, on Monday I was doing anatomy dissection and Coastguard operations room stuff. Tuesday was one of my friends birthdays so I baked her a cake, and then hurried off for Coastguard search and rescue training. Wednesday was a full day of anatomy dissection, on Thursday I was collecting data from a pig all day  and went out for sushi in the evening, and Friday was data analysis and histology slide preparation. On Friday evening I went over to a friends house played Articulate and Cranium and had a few drinks. There was quite a group of us and it was girls vs boys so it got pretty competitive. The boys won Articulate and we won Cranium, so we are going to have a rematch at some point!

Today, nursing a sore head, I decided to go for a walk out to Saint Marys Bay. I nearly rented a room in the area, but it was really small and I felt you were just paying for the view so didn't bother in the end. It's really beautiful though, so if I ever have to move out of my current apartment I may just start my flat hunt there.

I started off by walking up to Ponsonby to buy myself a hangover lunch - a chicken, bacon and avocado burger, a can of Mountain Dew and some Reece's Cups. Needless to say it went down well!

I then walked down to the harbour bridge which goes between Auckland and the North Shore. The bridge itself reminds me a little of the Tay Bridge, only it sees a lot more sun and a lot less of the local Coastguard! It was another glorious day, so there were people fishing, kayaking and even one person paddle boarding. I also got a couple of great shots of the Sky Tower from a foot bridge above the motorway. I think they may even be the best pics yet...

There are always loads of people down by the harbour, as there are quite a lot of boat owners in NZ. I think I heard somewhere that there are more boats per person here than anywhere else in the world, and after seeing the amount moored in the harbour, I can truly believe it! I don't think I have ever seen quite so many boats in a harbour.

I had a really good day, and it was nice to just chill out and stroll around in the sunshine. I got back home at about 4pm to find my first NZ Coastguard qualification in the mailbox. I am now officially qualified to use the  Marine VHF Radio! I also know I passed my search and rescue exam, so I'm hoping that there will be a certificate for that in the post soon too.

 Going to see what the weather is like tomorrow and may go out for another stroll, so keep an eye on the blog. The potential for two posts in two days.... on course for a record!