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Hey everyone!
My 10 days in New Zealand are nearly over, I'm jetting off to Hawaii tomorrow and I can't wait! Today I'm off to to the 'Degas to Dali' exhibition at the Auckland Art Gallery. I might go to the burger place next to the hostel again tonight, as it's my last meal in New Zealand... 'Velvet Burger'... so good! And then I'm due for an early night as I have to catch the shuttle to the airport at 6:30am. Strangley enough, the girl who I'm currently rooming with here is catching the same flight to Hawaii as me and he's staying in the same hostel in Waikiki, so I have a Hawaii buddy already!
I'll be honest, Auckland is rubbish. There's not much going on here. A few days ago I decided to go up the Sky Tower here so I could get a good look at the city and maybe I could explore some new areas, but I couldn't see anything that looked overly interesting, and it was so cloudy I didn't even get a good view. I think that the problem is it's too spralling... the city centre itself is quite little, but the suburbs
seem to extend for miles... maybe there is more going on out there but it's just not really possible to walk to. It doesn't help when the weather is crap either, kind of puts you off wanting to explore. Also it's worth noting that I loved Sydney and anywhere else was bound to disappoint me after that!
On Monday I caught the Magic Bus to Whitianga via Thames, just for something to do really. Whitianga is on the Coromandel Penninsula, which is a big holiday destination for both travellers and Kiwis. It has a 'hot water beach' where if you dig a hole and let the sea wash into it, you can have a bath! I stayed at a hostel called 'On The Beach Backpackers' which was very nice, and I was sharing an entire block with just one other girl named Layla. Unfortunately it rained heavily for the entire duration of our stay there, so we got comfortable in our lounge area and watched movies all afternoon. It wasn't ideal, but to be honest I was just happy to get out of Auckland. Layla and I got along really well so I didn't mind just hanging out with
her, although she made me watch The Time Traveler's Wife, which always makes me well up. On Tuesday morning we had to be up early to catch our bus back to Thames, which was super annoying as the first bus dropped us in Thames at 9am, but the Magic Bus to Auckland doesn't get to Thames until 2pm! We had to sit around for 5 hours just to get back to Auckland. We just sat in a cafe, read our books and had a look around a shoe shop (I resisted the urge to buy anything, despite the heels on my boots being broken and the fact they're starting to smell! Gunna wait until I get to the US and pick up some cheap Converse).
Last night Layla and I arranged to get a pizza and watch a movie in Auckland (because apparently we hadn't had our fill of movies in Whitianga?!). In New Zealand and Australia the 'Event' cinema group run something called 'Cheap As Tuesdays', tickets are normally about $25 but on Tuesdays you can go for $11. I've done that twice in Auckland now. Anyway we went to see 'Dark Shadows' with Johnny Depp - it
was pretty good! It did feel a bit strange going to see it without my mum though, we always see the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp films together. Don't worry mum, I don't think the next Twilight movie is due out until I get home so I won't ruin that tradition!
Highlights from my time in New Zealand: Dolphin cruise at the Bay of Islands, bodyboarding on the sand dunes at Te Paki, watching a Japanese girl fall down the sand dunes because she lost her nerve at the last minute (she was fine, it was funny, honest!), the Waitomo Glowworm caves, staying at the Mousetrap Hostel in Paihia, watching The Avengers with Jon and the movie session in Whitianga with Layla (I drank a whole bottle of wine to myself, because it was raining. That's a brilliant reason, shhh). Oh, and I mustn't forget 'Mrs Higgin's Cookie Shop' on Queen Street - yummy cookies!
I should really go and find some lunch before I go to the art gallery.
I'm so excited for Hawaii! I can't wait to be back in the sunshine!
Missing everyone lots (especially my puppies, I want to hug every dog I see!)
Much love,
Streets.
xxx
PS - The exhibition was awesome! That's a 'highlight' now too.
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