Auckland Squalls

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Greetings from Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand and the final stop on our trip (if you don't count our airline connections in LA and Philadelphia).

We arrived here last night by plane. We flew out of the beautiful Dunedin International Airport (not being sarcastic - it's a really nice, spacious, well-designed airport, especially when you consider the city it serves only has a population of 100,000). We arrived in Auckland around 11:00 pm, and took a shuttle to our Backpackers in the center of the city.

Our travel-bleary eyes were a little startled by the 24-hour party atmosphere of Auckland Central Backpackers. The place is massive, in a 10+ storey tall building which we think was formerly an office tower. In addition to accomodation, it includes a bar and nightclub, internet cafe, travel bureau, employment office and a million other services. It's nothing like the other quiet, quaint hostels we've stayed in here.

This morning we woke up (party music still blasting at 7:00 am. Not sure if these crazy kids partied through the night or just started up again really early) and walked down to the Waitemata Harbour, where we met up with our skipper Steve and First Mate Louise for a coffee cruise around the harbor. It had been raining on and off all morning, but when we reached the sailling sloop, the sun was shining. It was very windy, but that's good for sailing, right? (Our walk to the harbor was made quite difficult by the headwind, which we later learned was gusting up to 45 MPH.)

As soon as we left the slip, the wind really picked up and tossed the sailboat around. (We were reassured to learn that the boat weighed 53 tons, 9 of which was entirely keel, so the likelihood of capsizing was practically zero.) We enjoyed a coffee and hot chocolate and chatted with the crew and the other passenger, until the rain began. We went below for a few minutes until the squall passed, and came back upstairs to take in the view. Just repeat that last sentence about six times and that will give you an idea of the remainder of the cruise. At one point Brian took the wheel and steered the ship (and got soaked in the process). We have a great photo, but will have to upload it later from home.

After the cruise, we had lunch in a nearby waterfront restaurant, and watched the weather get even worse. We pitied the poor suckers who were on the (longer and more expensive) lunch cruise who must have been miserable, while we enjoyed our lunches from the warm, dry cafe.

We visited the Maritime Museum, whose exhibit on the wreck of the Orpheus, the largest maritime disaster in NZ history, was particularly interesting. Then we wandered around central Auckland for a couple of hours, deciding not to go to the top of the Sky Tower ($18/person, to go about as high as the top of the IDS). We had been looking forward to a final meal here, at a sushi restaurant that Lonely Planet recommended, but found that it was closed. Now we're back at the hostel, waiting for our shuttle to the airport and our journey home.

It's been a remarkable, wonderful experience to be here. It was important for us to honeymoon in a place that neither of us had visited, so we could explore new territory together. New Zealand was the perfect choice, for so many reasons. The natural environment is spectacular, from the tip of the North Island down to the bottom of the South. The people we've met have been gracious, friendly, helpful and just fun to be around. The food has been great. And the driving has been...iiiiiinteresting.

We'll have more observations later, when we're home and have processed the experience. We'll upload many more photos then too. Signing off from the southern hemisphere for the last time (for now),

xoxo, Brian and Geri

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