Jetlag, Exercise and Sunburn...

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First Impressions of New Zealand

I think I'm ruined for all future travel. It will now take me years to save to get to even the closest of destinations. The reason?? Business Class!! From the departure lounge with free food and drinks (I may have indulged a little) to the restaurant quality service and food on board (I may have indulged a little more) all the way to the extra space and inflight entertainment (I may have indulged A LOT... but who wouldn't when you can't even reach the seat in front when fully stretched). This being said, on a flight where you effectively lose your night due to travel time and time zones, it doesn't matter if you fly business, economy or even first class.... you still end up with jetlag.



Arriving into Auckland at 6am and having an easy time through customs due to the agreement between Australia and New Zealand meant I was in and out by just before 7am. The buses to the city are easy to locate even for someone half asleep and with the help of the friendly driver I was dropped off mere meters from my hostel. Then it all started to go downhill.... literally.
Due to being fully booked the night before there was no chance in hell of me getting to a bed before check-in time of 2pm. "Make the most of it" you say..... "Get out there" you say.... "Drink some concrete" you say.... well I did (to the best of my ability).
Auckland's city center is set on a volcanic zone and therefore is probably the most undulating city I've visited in it's small area. There is just the two main streets running North/South with the city center and harbor at the North end... and everything funnels down to sea level there meaning that although the trip down is not so bad, by the end of the day the walk back is a killer (and because there's only 2 main streets they're about 2km long).
The city itself reminds me of nearly all other young cities in the world ie Sydney, with it's main shopping precincts and cafes. What I do love about this city though is it has a cafe scene very much like Melbourne where the further you progress down the back alleys, the more fantastic the cafes and coffee gets (I sampled a few that first morning). The alleys end up culminating in the nightclub scene with entrances leading down to underground digs that I've yet to try.
After getting my bearings and walking the city South to North, I criss-crossed the city back up the hill. Once off the 2 main streets is where this city comes into its own... beautiful parkland, museums, galleries, and (some may call me sadistic but I find them fascinating) old cemeteries. All allowed me to see a few sites at a relaxing pace until my room was ready.



Jetlag truly is the bane of the traveler. I slept on and off from 4pm til 8am and in doing so missed a Saturday night when the hostel was full and would've given me a wealth of contacts and information to further my travels. On a brighter note though, I'm now on New Zealand time and was ready and raring to go Sunday morning.



Deciding to take in an island out in the harbour, I jumped onto the ferry to Rangitoto Island. The island is the youngest land mass in the area, being a dead volcano that erupted 600 years ago to form Rangitoto. The entire island is a jumble of black rock (basalt?) that was deposited from the lava flows when it last erupted around 400 years ago and provides a beautiful nature reserve full of birdlife and walk trails. The hike to the summit is not the most leisurely walk I've done but for those that have travelled with me in the past, I was true to form and found the highest natural point in an area and decided to climb. The view from the summit is breathtaking, providing 360o panoramas of the bay and the city, also highlighting no less than 7 other volcanic mounds within view. There is also an opportunity to have a wander through some lava tubes (caves) caused by flowing lava that formed a crust on it's top but remained fluid underneath.



Making it back to the jetty just as the rain started rolling in for the journey back to Auckland I spent the afternoon on the hunt for a sports bar for the F1 race this evening as it's not on free to air here. 12 pints and a few Jack's down as well as a 2am finish to the race left me a little worse for wear, but the last day here approached and I was still to do a few things on my list.



Passing thoughts so far for Auckland.... Jetlag is your enemy.... Wear good walking shoes..... and the rumours are true - you can get sunburnt in New Zealand even if it's raining.

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Comments

[Elaine]

Fresh air and sunshine.
Pictures are great Mark. Nice to know too that the weather is good. Lots of blue sky and not too much rain. Enough to keep the grass green and all those sheep nice and white. :)