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Published: November 19th 2005
Well, I'm not quite sure where to begin. I have only been here three days and I feel like so much has already happened! So, here we go...from the beginning...
I flew into LA a day before my flight. I wanted to give myself plenty of time. As it turns out, my flight was delayed more than nine hours. It was crazy and I was all messed up with sleep. So, I finally arrived in Auckland on Thursday, Nov. 17th around 6 p.m. I ckecked into my hostel and found a little cafe to have a quick dinner. I spent that evening trying to catch up on some sleep and realize what happened to Wednesday!
I have to say, with all the research I have done on this country and all the people I have talked to, I was a little disappointed by Auckland. I was nervous that perhaps I had built up this trip too big in my head and that it would not be what I wanted. I read that Auckland is surrounded by volcanoes. This is true, but the volcanoes are not Mt. Rainier, they are hills with grass and trees. Too funny! The city is great...beautiful harbor. It reminded me alot of Seattle. It's about the same size and have steep hills to it. With my uneasiness...I began to think about my next stop...once I arrived to the Bay of Islands...I knew that the trip was going to be everything I wanted it to be! But that's later in this entry...
Back to Auckland. It's a bussling city, but by 6 p.m. it shuts down. Shops close and businesses close. I thought that was strange. On Friday morning I set out to Food Town for some snacks and meal replacement items. I know...the big eater that I am and I'm living on crumpets, apples and granola bars. This will only last so long :-) From there I headed to the visitors bureau to finish up a couple of things I needed...like buying my bus pass. Then, onto a ferry and across the harbor to Devonport. Now, when I say ferry, it was just a large boat. No cars on it. Devonport is an cute little town with art galleries and cafes. I loved it. I took a suggested walking tour around the community which just happen to lead me up to the summit of a volcanoe. Now, like a mentioned before...they are hills...it took me about 15 mins to summit. At the top, the views were beautiful. You could see all of Auckland and some of the other islands in the harbor. I continued my walk which led me to the beach where I sat on a bench, had lunch and watched these beautiful birds...all black with this amazing bright orange beak. Then back to the ferry. From there I headed to the Maritime musuem which was very interesting and told quite a bit of history about the country. Then I walked through some of the harbors...saw an Americas Cup boat...then continued my walk through downtown. I decided to be a complete and total tourist and go up in Sky Tower. This is equivelant to Seattle's Space Needle, but higher. The views were spectacular. I was really glad that I did it. The elevator ride was a little creepy. They have glass in the floor so that you can watch yourself rise and fall. A little too much for me. At the top, they also have glass in the floor. I leaned over one for a picture, but did not step on it. For gods sake, I don't even step on the open grates in the sidewalks in Chicago. Stop laughing Jenny! I sat down to enjoy the view and was greeted by a crazy person that had decided to jump off the building. They call it the Sky Jump. These people must be on crack because they are attached to a small wire and then dropped off a ledge. They stop them in front of the viewing windows on the observation deck so that people can take pictures of them. After about 10 seconds, they are dropped to the ground. Don't worry mom, I did not do this! I finished up my day with a Kebob (it's a Turkish sandwich) and a beer at a local pub trying to follow the Cricket game on TV which was hopeless sense I don't know any of the rules.
On Saturday morning, I woke up early to catch a bus to the Paihia in the Bay of Islands. The drive north out of Auckland was amazing! We were along the water and the cliffs and trees were breath taking. Along the 4 hour trip, we passes many farms...mostly sheep, cows, more sheep, more cows, turkey (yes, you read that right), more sheep, ostrige (yes, I may have spelled it wrong, but you can figure it out)! The foilage here is really cool. Very different, half tropical, half forest. When we arrived in Paihia, it took my breathe away. Think wonderful beach town with beautiful tourquoise water and many islands. As I have been reading, I have realized that there is just too much to do here and I will never, ever see it all in 28 days. So, I already know that I am coming back. I have already had to remove some things from my itinerary, but I'm ok with that. I'm really happy that I have left Paihia in and I have decided to spend 2 1/2 days here. Today, I walked along the water to the next town (about a 30 min. walk) called Waitangi. This is the history of NZ. This is where the treaty was signed between the Maori/Moa and the English. It was so interesting. I took far too many pictures. Then I strolled around town...bought a Christmas gift (get excited Elizabeth)...and came back to the hostal. I want to see as much as possible while I am in the far Northland, so I decided to book a boat tour of the bay for tomorrow. Now, I could choose from: a.) the cheap touristy 55+ boat that spent 3 hours on the water, b.) the large sail boat that you get to play and work on while seeing the sights and is geared towards families, or c.) the Catamaran that spends the entire day on the water, stops at a island for snorkeling and just happens to have a bar onboard. Yes, that's right...I picked the booze cruise! Now, I firgure, this will probably be the only time I have for this and the weather is perfect, so we shall see. I am anticipating fun and sea sickness. Then, on Monday, I am getting up really early to go with a very small tour up to 90-mile beach and Cape Reinga. There is a lot of history on this trip along with riding a buggy board down sand dunes. Should be a blast.
Thus far, the trip is a blast. People are amazing and the sights are unforgettable. Just when I thought I wouldn't take many picutes, I'm almost through two rolls of film. From here I am heading to Rotorua. The south island is suppose to be more incredible. It's hard to believe from where I sit right now. For those of you that might be traveling to NZ, I would make sure to add Paihia to your list of places to see. It's beautiful.
So long for now...more in a couple of days. Love you all...CJ
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Jen Price
non-member comment
You're so brave!
It sounds like you're having a wonderful time! I can't believe that you went to New Zealand all alone! I love hearing about your adventures. Does the landscape look like the movie, Lord of the Ring? I think that was filmed there. Be safe and don't drink too much on that booze cruise! haha