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Published: January 2nd 2007
hi everyone! dropping you a quick line from auckland airport where i am playing the much hated waiting game...the plane to la is still in melbourne cos of engineering difficulties (ie, plane is broken...not good). i was meant to leave 2 hours ago, but estimated departure is now 3am. oh what fun. auckland was heaps of fun!! well apart from the first night, when i got ripped off by the shuttle bus company, arrived at my hostel to find they'd stuffed up my booking and were full, then forgot to take note of name/address of new b&b accommodation that they kindly gave me for no extra charge, so was a bit stressed of being lost in auckland on my first night! walking through the city was fairly unpleasant too at night, i really didn't feel safe, ended up in some dodgy areas i think.
but! no fear, it improved!!!saw heaps of cool places, went up sky tower and watched people base jumping, went to an aquarium when it was raining, shopping streets (bought the new brooke fraser cd, excellent!), the zoo, ferry to devonport which had a similar feel to victor, tour of waihiki island (thanks for the recommendation rik, it was stunning!), markets, and more which i've forgotten. they had an excellent bus service that got me everywhere, adelaide could take some tips! auckland is a really pretty city - reminds me of sydney (being on the water), melbourne (cosmopolitan and the unpredictable weather) and adelaide (small town feel). one downside was being new year, most things were closed, restaurants, shops etc. if i came back i wouldn't do so at this time of year!
being by myself hasn't bothered me apart from the safety issue, it would be really nice to have someone else around when i'm walking in dark alleys! also eating alone in a restaurant was strange, but i'm kinda enjoying being by myself, it's true, you do meet heaps more ppl this way. i've met cool ppl from oregon, north california, got travel tips from a lady in vancouver, brazil, oz, etc. being in a b&b i didn't meet that many ppl, everyone kept to themselves, but just met ppl along the way. on new years eve i was walking around the city looking for some celebrations around the place, and happened to walk past a church where i could hear singing, and thought i might as well go in, cos i hadn't got to go that morning. it was a portugese/english church, though english wasn't really used much! hehe. i couldn't understand anything but luckily they cater for english speakers by translating the message! after the service i got to meet heaps of cool crazy brazilians, had birthday cake for dinner and then joined them on the north shore to watch fireworks in auckland from across the bay. it was heaps of fun!! they were so lovely and even dropped me back home afterwards at my hostel. definitely one of the best new years i've had...just so random!
funny sign along the road from the airport said: "you asked for a sign - god." hehe, that one cracked me up. another funny thing, a school i saw today was called the "epsom normal primary school" - what the...?
so now it's on to los angeles (if my plane ever turns up!) will lose most of the day due to this flight delay, but hoping to catch some bands at night...might miss that tho depending how long we wait here. then tomorrow is disneyland!!! yay!!
well i hope you all had a fab new year!
will update you again soon,
love from tam
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Mel
non-member comment
Hi Tam! Sounds like you're really experiencing life! That's great! You're a brave old soul :) I couldn't do it on my own. Keep on enjoying yourself, and stay safe. Love and God bless, Mel x