Auckland New Zealand

I woke up nice and early on Friday morning after very little sleep. The night before we stayed up, had a couple of drinks and listened to Jason and Xavier play all the songs they now (they are working on learning more). I also played a bit of Shit Head (a card game that almost everyone around the world knows how to play except Americans) with Susan and Angie. All in all my last night in Sydney went well.

My flight was at 9:15 with Air Emirates. Everyone comments how posh Emirate is and they did not let me down. While waiting to get on board, the flight attendants came walking down the terminal. The women were dressed very well with some crazy lace thing hanging from the sides of their hats to about mid-torso area (I am sure there is some technical name that I do not know) and the guys had suits (16 attendants in all!). The flight itself was less than three hours and we were still given the hot towels to bath yourself. The meal was out of this world (for airplane standards) and they had even passed out a fancy menu before hand. I ate fresh fruit, omelet, sausage, spinach, tomato, mushroom, cheese, crackers, bread, orange juice, apple juice, tea, and chocolate. Very nice!

The in-flight entertainment was nice as well. I had at least 20 movies to choose from that I could start, stop, rewind, and pause whenever I wanted. I watched a movie based in London’s King Cross called Breaking and Entering. I was really tired but I was enjoying the movie so I would not allow my body to fall asleep. The greatest two hours and fifty-eight minutes I have ever spent on an airplane.

When I arrived in Auckland, the weather was alright: a bit cloudy and about 18 C. I caught the bus into the city and my hostel. The hostel I am staying at is on Queen Street, the main drag of Auckland. I received my key, dropped my bag off, and took to walking the streets. On my way in, I stopped at a small Polynesian market full of clothes and had a stall with mini doughnuts (of course I bought some if anyone was actually wondering). I headed for downtown (not too big but not too small), guided by the Southern Hemisphere’s tallest tower. I would never have guessed it to be the tallest but that is what the guidebook and every advert I have seen states.

I walked to the harbor, which pales in comparison to Sydney. In Auckland’s defense the harbor is still used for very industrious purposes and therefore is surrounded by warehouses, ferries, and massive equipment. The rain kicked in a bit but I continued my exploration. Along Customs Street, past the major bus depot, up the hill to Albert Park and in and out of all the side streets. Auckland is a very hilly city (several volcanoes surround the city) and it was a trek up and down some of those hills. I decided to head for the seedy area of town once it was dark to check it out. Karangahape or “K” road is full of ethnic eateries, bars, clubs, and other dodgy businesses that come in seedy areas. I found a Chinese grocer with really cheap fruit (.99 a kg for bananas) and other products. I bought dinner, headed back to the hostel to cook it, read and fell asleep in the communal area. Off to bed to reclaim some lost sleep from the past 3.5 months.

Today I allowed myself to sleep in, a whopping 10:10. I headed out to do the Coast-to-Coast walk I had read about the night before in the TNTNZ. With a 2 hour stop at the Auckland Museum (Pacific Island and Maori culture, early life in NZ, natural history, wacky and weird zone, the treasure chest, and NZ wars) the walk took me 8.5 hours. I walked at least 10 miles today with on and off rain showers (more off than on thankfully). The walk took me through Albert Park, the Domain, Maungawhau (volcano), Cornwall Park, One Tree Hill Domain, Manukau Road, down to Manukau Harbor. All in all I had a great time. My legs are aching now and I cannot wait to get to sleep.

That is about it for now. I am sure I will have much more exciting adventures write about in the coming days. The further I head south the more thrilling the activities become.

On my drive in from the airport we passed a restaurant called Wisconsin and it said home of the world’s greatest burgers (in reference to my state not the restaurant).

Enjoy the warm weather in Minnesota. Fall is in full effect here!