Final Kiwi Days in Auckland

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Day 568 (17.10.08)

Finishing off the drive we dumped everything in at the hostel before going over to the hire car company to drop our wheels off. The rest of the day was spent rather boringly in and out of internet cafes (which are half the price here in Auckland than they are across the rest of the country) trying to get up to date with burning CD's of our photos and making a big dent in getting the blog up to date.

The evening brought about the usual dilema as to what to eat for dinner. Spotting a flier, we decided to go to one of the local pubs that had a promotion on with their beer and who were also putting on a free BBQ for the local backpacking community. We were sold on both accounts and the food turned out to be great!

Day 569 (18.10.08)

Yet more business for the local internet cafe as we had a load of jobs that still needed doing. We took the afternoon off and went for a walk around the centre of town and the docks. As we explored we passed a huge cruise liner that had docked for the night before stumbling upon a festival celebrating Diwali.

We took a look through all of the brightly colored stalls, watched some of the performances by local dancers and musicians before sampling some of the Samosas and Curry Puffs from one of the stalls. They were delicious!

Knocking up a pasta dinner from what food we had left we finished the night watching a film with some of our fellow guests.

Day 570 (19.10.08)

With still more jobs to be done we put in another couple of hours doing jobs at the internet cafe (which was starting to feel like our second home by now) before going for an afternoon trip out. Walking down to the marina we caught the ferry over to Devonport on the other side of the bay. It was great to get a clear view of the Auckland skyline and its main feautre the Skytower and see some of the shipping industries and Naval operations that rely on the waterways around the city. It was excellent to be able to see the dockyards and the warships.

Docking up we had a potter through town which had a great 'classy seaside town' feel to it before climbing the remains of Mt Victoria, one of the 42 extinct volcanoes in the area to get a stunning view over both Devonport and the entire city.

Taking our time to soak up the view we eventually dragged ourselves away headed back toward the ferry and home. Back in the confines of the hostel we took the opportunity to cram our stuff into our packs in preparation for our flight the next day.

With our bags full to the brim and still more washing to fit in we temporarily abandoned our packing and walked over to the Sky Tower. We wanted to get up while it was still light so we could see the city in the daytime and in the dark. Stepping into the lift we stood on the glass floor which gave us an amazing view of the lift accelerating skyward at a rapid pace.

We arrived on the viewing deck with the sun starting to make its final dive toward the horizon. We stayed and watched the sun go down and the city turn from its daytime bustle to its nighttime sparkle. We've done the same in several places and we'll never tire of watching that transformation.

With hunger stepping in, we descended the lift and set out on a mission to find a place to eat. After dismissing a couple of options we found a very traditional Chinese place and had a great feast until we rolled ourselves back to the hostel where we topped our final evening in New Zealand off with a bottle of wine.

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Photos

Up the Sky Tower
sun setting

Up the Sky Tower
Chrissie

Up the Sky Tower
Mark