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Published: February 10th 2007
We haven't wrote for awhile so be prepared to read a lot.
When Keith and I arrived in Auckland we hopped on a shuttle bus downtown. From here it was fairly easy to find a place to stay. We wanted to stay at the luxery Basebackpackers, but there was nothing available, so we settled for Queen's Street Backpackers, which was fine.
The next day, we decided to hop on a ferry to Rangitoto Island, where we did 1 out of 53 hikes in our "Tramping in New Zealand", Lonely Planet Guide. It took about 4-5 hours (10km). We thought this would be a good one to warm up our legs. We hiked to the summit of Rangitoto Volcano and then along the coast of the island where we saw some great views of Auckland.
I have recently found out that Keith is very good at commentating with the videotape. We took a bunch of pictures and a few videoclips that we will be able to show when we get home.
The next day rented a car from Avis and drove to Thames. This was our first time driving on the opposite side of the road. Keith tried numerous times to change lanes with the windshield wiper (which made me laugh time and time again). The Kauaeranga Kauri Trail was recommended to us by someone we met on the last hike. This hike was absolutely amazing. Our first day was spent climbing for 3 hours (380m ascent) to the Pinnacles Hut. This hut was absolutely amazing, equiped with a barbeque (we were kicking ourselves for not bringing meat), gas stoves, dining area, nice picnic tables outside, and could sleep 80 people. The night we slept there was only 3 of us, plus the ranger. We met a German guy who said this hike is nothing like the hikes in Switzerland (we thought this hike was absolutely amazing, can't imagine what could be better).
The next morning we started our decent. When we got back to where we parked our car, we discovered our back windshield had been completely shattered. I was in panick mode, because stupid me, left all our important information in my small backpack in the trunk of the car. It was taken, including our passports, airline tickets, money, parents visa, my visa, my health card and my driver's licence. Keith says I was in shock.
I was very impressed at how calm Keith was during this whole situation. He just took everything one step at a time. We had to clear the glass away, drive down to the police station and make all our necessary phone calls. But to make matters worse, it had been pouring rain all night and all day, so a lot of our stuff was soaked.
But we do need to count our blessings (Keith's wording),
#1. Keith still has his wallet, we still have access to his credit card and driver's license, so he can drive.
#2. We have a lot of time in New Zealand to still get things sorted out.
#3. We are healthy and still have each other.
Oh... and the best blessing of all was that we decided to get the "Access" Insurance on the vehicle which includes baggage and money. So, we have another insurance claim to make on the stolen items. And, we did not have to pay anything to the rental car company because we had the insurance.
So, now my most important documation I am holding is the stack of insurance receits and claims that we have to make and keep track of.
That's all for now, hopefully we have better luck in the South Islands.
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Ashley
non-member comment
yikes
Hey Guys, Sorry to hear about your stuff getting stolen, but glad you're ok. I got your email Julie, Hello from IStation, regarding your passport. It sounds like you guys have everything under control, but let me know if there's anything I can do from this end. Take care! Ashley