Kauri Point

I have had my first week back after the mid-semester break, and its big focal point has been a two-day career expo. I am, as I have previously touched on, searching for a company to write my master’s thesis at this coming spring (fall up north). And this career expo was a really excellent opportunity to get in touch with companies and try and feel out interesting ones that would also be interested in me. Which has turned out to be quite a challenge because writing your thesis at a company does not seem to be a common practice here, meaning I don’t only need to sell them on working with me, but also the idea and benefits of even taking in a thesis student.

Looking north from Harbour Bridge

On the whole, I think it went rather well. Beforehand I had scouted out some extra promising candidates and tried to get an email through introducing myself in advance, as well as identifying all the companies (around 20-25) that wanted computer science or software engineering and had offices in New Zealand. I then spent 4 hours over the course of Tuesday and Wednesday chatting to over 30 different companies and trying to sell them on the idea of working with me on a thesis project. A lot of the time it went nowhere, either because they didn’t have the CS expertise, or because I talked to someone who was to set on what their declared purpose at the expo where, or because I did a poor job explaining what I wanted and how it could be valuable for them with limited effort and economic costs on their part. But I also got a lot better at it over the course of those two days, and by the end of the second day had a few people even offering me their emails without having to prompt them for it.

In the end I have been able to write off a significant portion (including one of the ones I had put some extra effort into), but on the other hand found multiple new ones that seemed really interested with intriguing possibilities for a topic, and additionally some more where I have at least given them a face and found someone to use as a further thread to pull on.

But enough about the boring stuff, let’s get to the actual excursion. Though first I just want to mention that I finished up that second day of the career expo by “learning” to dance Salsa, at an event organised by the exchange student organisation. It was a lot of fun, though quite difficult.

Le Roys Bush Reserve

Now, on to Kauri Point. I threw together this trip on Saturday morning (so same day as I went), picking through my notes on nature areas in Auckland and my first choices being stumped by candled ferries or suboptimal tides. So originally I thought of it as a smaller little walk, bringing a book (Oathbringer, an amazing read but unfortunately also a real brick) and my sketchbook, as well as lunch. With everything packed and a loose plan ready, I jumped on a ten-minute bus ride across the Auckland Harbour Bridge and got off by Le Roys Bush Reserve.

It was a really beautiful restoration area, and like most other urban reserve areas in Auckland it really did feel like a forest just due to its density, even if it is only a few hundred meters wide.

After walking through it, I got back up into the suburb, where I stopped at a bakery and picked up my first traditional New Zealand pie: a lovely flaky, buttery affair filled with salmon, kapers and potato. And for context, if there is one characterising NZ food, it is their meat (or fish) pies, among other things for breakfast. I continued my walk, pie in hand, and made my way down to Chelsea Estate Heritage Park and found my self a really nice old tree a bit out into the water, which I of course had to go climbing in. An excellent little early-lunch stop.

My walk continued past the Chelsea Sugar Refinery, where I saw some birds nesting in the furthest reaches of the alley trees’ branches stretching out across a dam (did not climb those). Then up onto a bit of a sketchy looking road sending mixed messages with angry Private Property signs, and This way for the walking trail signs. But it seems both were true, as it soon had a turn-off onto the first real proper small trails I think I have seen so far in New Zealand, and I was in the Kauri Point Centenial Park.

The view of Auckland and Harbour Bridge

It was a wonderful forest, and even better for the fact that it wasn’t built up. So many of the other nature areas I have been to so far has been boardwalks or big, well maintained tracks. Which is great and all, but I have missed being able to just follow a small little trail, not trafficked by many others. Especially as you kind of have to stick to the tracks, both because of the Kauri dieback, and just because the underbrush is so thick that you need to go “bush bashing” to traverse it (sometimes with a literal machete).

The track followed the cliff edges, often opening up the view of Auckland CBD and the Harbour bridge. As well as just the views of the cliffs themselves, weathered clay/sandstone with trees hanging halfway down with roots clinging on to the clifftop. And the funny New Zealand tall-grass Toetoe interspersed, with their feathered tops which grow to 3 meters tall.

My next stop was the actual Kauri Point where I had the rest of my sandwiches, and then just sat sketching for a while enjoying the view, wind and sunshine. Then I walked down to Kendall Beach just down the cliff, and out onto the rocks by the water front, revealed as the tide had pulled back. Then across the beach, thinking that I would do the same manoeuvre on that side. However, there was no nice rock ledge to follow there, which should really have been my hint to just continue on. Instead, I took it as a challenge. Rolling up my pants and leaving my backpack on the beach, I started out along the cliff. First walking on smaller stones and climbing across fallen trees, then shimming along the cliff wall before finally resorting to some straight-up climbing to reach the outer cliff point.

As I climbed back I made some minor mistakes where I slide down the clay/rock for, and another where I miss stepped and ended up with one of my feet out in the luckily not deep water. Maybe not one of my wises moves, and after it, I was a bit high-strung. So at the next bench (incidentally at the top of that same point) I stopped for a rest and a read, so at least I didn’t lug the brick of a book around in vain.

By this point I was feeling rather done, and so started back towards civilisation. The path brought me right alongside the fence of the Kauri Point Armament Depot which felt a bit strange, and annoying as the path was in a horrid and super steep state while there was a new staircase on the other side of the fence. But I digress, after another ten-minute walk I was out of the forest and made my way to the closest bus stop and rode home.

Definitely a good little trip