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Published: October 13th 2008
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Auckland skyline
Spot the kitesurfer in the foreground. Polly:
To anyone thinking of visiting New Zealand, I would strongly recommend a trip to the west coast of South America (or Canada perhaps) on the way - it totally sorts out the whole jet-lag thing. We took off from Santiago at 10:45pm on the 26th September, had a few beverages over the Pacific Ocean, then slept for about 7 hours. We landed in Auckland, 13 hours later at 4:45am (the clocks changed that morning) on the 28th. Apart from losing a day of my life, which is still puzzling me, we were almost in sync with NZ time, we just needed to resist the urge to nap at about 4pm and push on through. It really was quite civilised!
We got a shuttle bus & rolled up at Becky & Tom's at about 6:30am. Becky, a good mate from school, and Tom her husband made us feel really welcome at their North Shore home in Takapuna, about 20m from the beach. I hadn't seen Becky for years, so it was cool to catch up, and actually felt just like only the other day since we'd last seen each other. We spent the day relaxing, pottering around the veggie
Auckland's Sky Tower
The tallest free-standing structure in the southern hemisphere, apparently... market and eating. Becky made us roast lamb which was the most amazing thing after our recent food episodes.
The next day (Monday), we got the bus into the centre and checked out some campervans. We settled on the Queenie, from Explore More, as it was the best for space vs cost. We hired it from 1st - 29th October and it's worked out at $39NZ a day hire + $19NZ fully comp. insurance (inc. tyres & windscreen). Legally, you don't have to have insurance in NZ, but what with my driving and the risk of break-ins we thought we should probably fork out the extra. With the current exchange rate it's about 23GBP per day all in, so about the same as 2 hostel beds.
We then had a pie & a pint in a pub before heading up the Sky Tower, 328m above the city. The weather was closing in a bit but the views were still pretty awesome. Some nutters were throwing themselves off for $190NZ. For us, the adrenalin would have to wait, just walking over the glass floor panels made my legs go to jelly.
On Tuesday we went for a walk
northwards along Takapuna beach to the next town, Milford, then strolled back via the shops. As written/sung about by half-Kiwi band 'Crowded House', we literally had "Four Seasons in One Day" during our walk. Coat on, coat off, coat on, coat off...
That night Ross, Becky and I met up with my cousin Lee who I'd never met before. Well, apparently I had, but was a baby at the time so don't remember it. We had a good meal out in Takapuna, and will hopefully hook up again on the way back.
On Wednesday morning we picked up our Queenie, loaded her up and headed north...
We got back to Auckland about 9pm on Friday night after two and a half days travelling around Northland (see later blog). Rosie & Tom (other friends from school) had just arrived for the weekend too in their bus.
We had such a laugh all weekend. On Saturday the boys went luging whilst we had a walk down Devonport beach and around the town. That night Rosie chauffered nine of us into town in their bus to, ironically, a South American night.
Ross:
It was a bit
Hovering!
Standing on the glass floor panels in the Sky Tower of a culture shock arriving in Auckland, especially in the North Shore area which is renowned as a slightly more desirable district of the city. Everything was much more civilised, cleaner and quieter than Santiago, plus they drive on the left in New Zealand which I hadn't realised before arriving. The city centre and central business district is relatively compact and easy enough to walk round and the buses between districts seem pretty easy to use. We hopped on the bus over the Harbour bridge without spending too much time scratching our heads at the bus stops and it was a refreshing change to pass the time of day with the bus driver rather than being barked at in a foreign language!
Becky and Tom have been a pair of legends, letting us crash for a few nights, feeding us ridiculous amounts of food and beverages and allowing us more or less a free run of their home. Tom, along with fellow team mates, Matt & Billy, is currently trying to raise support to fund an endurance rowing challenge from Perth to Mauritius in aid of Prostate Cancer next April, so if you can help in anyway check out
the 'Rowing for Prostate' group on facebook.
The Auckland Luge was a new experience for me. A bit like downhill go-karting but without the engine, you can pick up some serious speed and concrete burns, especially when trying to make a name for yourself amongst seasoned pros. Rumour has it that the Rotorua and Queenstown Luges are even better - will have to wait and see!
After returning from our travels to the Cape, it was good to hook back up with the crew and meet a few new faces for a knees-up in Auckland. Oh, and with a name like Luke, the nicknames are all too easy my friend! Hope you've recovered, and remember, at least you're 20% Maori...
We've now got 22 days to see the rest of New Zealand i.e. everything south of Auckland! We've figured out a rough itinerary but will have to see where it gets us. We need to be back in Auckland by 29th October to return the van.
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