Auckland

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Escaping Australia was as simple as a three hour flight from Sydney to Auckland. Arriving in New Zealand I was happy to find the weather there was about perfect. Slightly cooler than Australia, but clear and fine. My time there was limited, but I tried to make the most of the good weather and got in as much sightseeing as possible. Obviously five days is far too short a time to actually travel around New Zealand, which is a real shame as the south island is reputedly really beautiful. Five days is enough to see a city like Auckland comfortably though.

Went to the museum in Domain Park, a lot better than I thought it would be and larger on the inside than you would think to look at the building (plus admission by donation, so basically free!). Right at the top of the hill with some great views down to the harbour, the museum is well worth a visit. Chinese new year was on at the time too, so caught the night-time lantern festival in neighbouring Albert Park.

Also got out and about on a free tour of Auckland. There are two companies that run the free tours, KiwiExperience and Strays. I went on the 'Strays' tour and it really was a great day out, rare for something that doesn't cost you a penny, you wouldn't find anything like that in Australia! The tour takes in a few sights in the city including the Skytower (from which you can do a controlled freefall leap, named 'Skyjump') and the Victoria Markets (for all your New Zealand souvenir needs!). After this there are a couple of stops outside the city for great views across the harbour and a look at the skyline. A vast amount of boats in the harbour, this is why Auckland is called "City of Sails".

Grabbed a quick ice-cream on the beach before heading off. I have to mention the local speciality which could be the best ice-cream ever! The name of this creation is "hokey pokey", which is real honeycomb mixed into the ice-cream, good stuff! After this, it was further out of town and upwards to 'Bastion Point'. The sun was shining and the skies were clear, providing incredible scenes from this elevated viewpoint. The city in the distance on one side, and aquamarine waters punctuated by volcanos poking up to complete the picture.

The final stop was Mount Eden, the highest volcano in Auckland. The crater is believed to be a sacred place by the local Maori and as such you are forbidden to climb down inside. More great views from on high, of the city and surounding waters and of the islands below. Apparently one day many years ago, local uni students filled the bottom of the crater with car tires and set them alight, then called the local police to report the black smoke bellowing forth. The result was three-thousand homes in the Mount Eden area being evacuated. The police hadn't been too keen to go up and check it out for themselves, nor had they noticed that it was April fool's day, and unsurprisingly no-one ever owned up to the joke!!

On my final night I met up with an old friend from work, Darren. He was in town to visit his Kiwi girlfriends parents and our paths only crossed for that one evening. Unfortunately the twenty-six hour flight from the UK had exhausted the poor bastard (understandable!) and he virtually passed out after a couple of pints!

So to sum up, New Zealand looks great from my brief time in the north. Really need to spend three months or more to properly explore the country, plus bring some spare cash for the crazy adrenaline inducing activities. In a stroke of genius, the New Zealand government revoked an individuals right to sue as a result of injury due to any extreme sports. Keeps the industry booming and pulls in the tourists looking for that extra thrill!

So, next stop Fiji...

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Photos

Crater of Mount Eden
The biggest volcano in Auckland!

The SkyTower
Tallest structure in the southern hemisphere!

Darren...
Asleep on his long-suffering Kiwi missus, Amanda...

Flight out of NZ
Bye-bye New Zealand!!