Final Stop Auckland

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Day 110: Driving back to Auckland

With no windows in the room that I stayed in last night, I had no real concept of what time it was, and so apart from when Murgs popped her head round the door to say goodbye as she left for work (after which I fell straight back to sleep again), I managed to sleep through until nine, and got out of bed feeling a million times better than I had on the previous evening. I subsequently had a rather lazy but very pleasant morning waiting for my washing to finish in the drier (washing machines in hostels are expensive don't you know), and chatting to the housemates over a couple of cups of coffee, before finally making a move at midday, starting the drive back down to Auckland.

With a few stops on the way, the trip back took about three and a half hours. Apart from always ending up in dorms with noisy germans, I hadn't previously had any problems checking into the hostels in Auckland, and so assumed that I would be able to get a bed without too many problems. Unfortunately I hadn't accounted for the fact that Auckland was hosting a cricket match (Kiwis against the Poms) tomorrow, and with the All Black's playing on Saturday, I had a bit of a problem trying to find dorm beds. The advantage of having Twinkle was obviously that I could drive from one hostel to another trying to sort out places to stay. Being on my own, I did manage to get the dregs of the dorm beds, and am subsequently staying in four different rooms at two different hostels over the next four nights. A bit annoying since I'm not a great fan of packing up and moving my stuff every day, but on the bright side, it does mean that I would be extremely unlucky to land four dorms full of german women needing to get up and pack at six on every morning.

Accommodation sorted, I ditched my things and took Twinkle off to the carwash for a much needed clean. It's amazing how dirty a car can get in the space of ten days. Or perhaps not when you consider just how many dusty unsealed roads I've been driving down since I was last in Auckland. Getting back to the rental place, I said a fond farewell to Twinkle, and walked back to my hostel, stopping for food on the way.


Day 111: Wine and shopping...

With no real plans for the day, I packed up my things and put them in the storage room at the hostel, before heading into town for breakfast and some window shopping. Not really in a position to buy much, looking round the shops wasn't as much fun as it is back home, and so I needed to come up with another activity for the afternoon. It did occur to me that I hadn't been wine tasting since I'd arrived in New Zealand (well not officially at least), and so I booked myself onto an afternoon wine tasting tour.

After lunch at the hostel, I was picked up by a minibus, and along with four others, was given a tour around the Nobilo, Cooper's Creek and Babich wineries. It was a very pleasant afternoon. On the whole, New Zealand definitely produces much better whites, but I think I managed to get my money's worth and tried everything anyway! I also managed to show considerable restraint, only buying one bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. I reckon I deserve it, I've had a busy ten days, and it's not like I have to worry about driving now.

Having checked into my new dorm room, I didn't really do so much this evening, and with a more reliable internet connection, I think it's probably about time I caught up on sorting out the blogs and emailing friends. It's going to be an early night though, I have to get up early, move my backpack to another hostel and then meet a minibus for a full day canyoning!


Day 112: The most fun you can have in a wetsuit

Having packed up my things and checked into the next hostel, I walked down to meet the canyoning shuttle bus at ten. Joining a New Zealand couple, two Danish guys and a Chilean couple (who were the guides and instructors), we were driven to the Waitakere Range just west of Auckland. Here we changed into wetsuits and harnasses and started an hour long uphill walk to the top of the 'canyon' (which to be fair was more of a river in a not-too-deep gulley, but good fun was had all the same). From the top, we made our way down through the forest, following the river, jumping into deep pools, sliding down slippery rocks, and abseiling waterfalls. During the lunchtime stop of cheese rolls, chocolate and hot orange, we got to meet Albert the eel (because every outdoor instructor in New Zealand has to have a pet eel), a rather large but friendly specimen, who would stick his head out of water when offered ham. Moving a little more slowly than before (because jumping into deep pools is always a bit more uncomfortable when you're full of food), we continued downstream for more of the same.

We were actually only in the river for a few hours, but it had been a great trip, and the group had all been good fun, particularly the Danish guys who inexplicably found everything rather funny and spent much of the trip giggling. After peeling off our wetsuits, we walked the half hour back to the minibus and were driven back to Auckland.

Soon after getting back from canyoning, I was feeling quite tired and starting to get a little bit stiff as the day's exertions took their toll. Having checked into hostel number two (room number three), I sorted myself out some pasta and veggies and settled down for an early night reading about all there is to do in South America.


Day 113: Mooching

My last day in New Zealand and I was in a bit of a funny mood today, partly apprehensive about moving on to another country, and also a bit sad to be leaving without having done everything I'd wanted to (which would probably take about twenty years anyway). I packed up my things to move room and headed into town for some aimless wandering. I'd half-wondered whether I should go to Waiheke, a nearby island, for a daytrip today, but with the weather not really supporting a day on the beach, and not really wanting to join hoardes of tourists who'd had similar ideas, I thought I'd just stay around town. Besides, I had a few things I needed to get (shampoo, new toothbrush, spanish dictionary etc). Amusingly, I found that you can actually barter in New Zealand shops. Having ummed and ahed about the price of a flashdrive in the computer shop, the guy behind the counter said he could 'do me a better price', and after a little negotiation, I managed to reduce the initial cost by 30%, and that was on a main high street in Auckland! I'm not sure if it'd work in PC World back home, but I'm willing to give it a go! In a bookshop, I thought I'd try my bartering skills again and managed to get twenty percent off a book there (admittedly it was slightly damaged, but I thought it was quite a good effort all the same)! I drew the line at negotiating prices in supermarkets and paid full prices for things bought there, but am pleasantly surprised that people in large chain stores are willing to negotiate fixed prices. It make going shopping that little bit more fun! Shame I've only just found out, else I´d have tried it more often over the last two months.

Having sorted through my things this evening, I decided against carrying my bottle of winery purchased Sauv Blanc all the way to Argentina and so cracked it open to have with dinner, spending the rest of the evening reading, emailing and making tipsy phonecalls to my nearest and dearest.


Day 114: So that was New Zealand, Eh!

So, my time in New Zealand is up and it's time to move on to pastures new. To be honest, I'm a bit gutted to be leaving. I've had much more fun than I expected to, and have already planned enough activities to fill a number of future trips to the country. Watch this space!

Having to check out at ten, I packed up all my things early and walked down to the post office to send another parcel home. Once again, I've managed to accumulate three kilos of unnecessary items to send back, although included in this, there is a significant volume of sheep memorobilia (I just couldn´t resist it, there are sheep everywhere here). With not long before I should be making my way to the airport, I hung around the hostel for a couple of hours, eating and reading, before walking down to the bus stop to start the long journey to South America.

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