Auckland: Goodbye airports, hello volcanic islands!

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Kia Ora! Well after 36 hours of flying and an agonisingly dull 10-hour wait at Brunei airport, I finally made it here to Auckland, New Zealand. Having slept in departure lounges and eaten nothing but plane food for the last 3 days, the thought of clean clothes and a bed has never seemed more appealing!

First of all I apologise for how long this blog is - I promise the next ones will be shorter!

My first thoughts as I set out into Auckland were, "Oh great, another city!" and to be truthful, you can see why travellers don't linger too long here. Auckland is one of, if not the most expensive places in New Zealand, and a lot of Central Auckland is lined with swanky hotels and expensive restaurants. There's also a sheer lack of public transport here, apparently because the population is low spread, there's little demand for it. That being said however, Auckland's still got its perks, and with the moaning out of the way I'll move on!

I arrived on Friday morning and after checking into the youth hostel, set out with a map to explore the city. Auckland is fed by wide, straight long American-style roads, and the northbound ones all slope down towards the Auckland docks. Combined with the high-mounted highway signs and a great long bridge overlooking the city, you could be forgiven for mistaking the place for San Francisco (without the trams). However, there's obviously a lot more to it than that. My first stop was the Sky Tower, Auckland's trademark and the tallest building in New Zealand. It dominates the skyline and you can see it from pretty much anywhere in Auckland. You can bungy jump off the top for $195. Too tired to even contemplate the idea, I carried on to the Viaduct Harbour for a nice afternoon drink by the waterside. Unfortunately the harbour is the prime eating/drinking location for most people in the evening, hence the huge food prices (try $22 for a steak and chips) and packed out bars. With that in mind I headed elsewhere.

I'd say about 60-70% of the locals in Auckland are Asian (Japanese/Korean/Chinese/Vietnamese etc) or Maori descendants (the original Kiwi natives) which surprised me - I'd expected there to be far more English speakers. Still, listening to a Chinese guy pronounce "Panini" is truly hilarious!

Returning to the youth hostel, I collapsed into bed at 7pm for a very long sleep!

I woke up at 5.30 the next morning ready to start the day (who's the early bird now, eh?), delving into the many brochures and guides I'd acquired for some insight into the Auckland highlights. Apparently, there's a lot more to Auckland then just the town centre. The hotspots for Auckland are actually the areas around it, like the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Therefore I headed out bright and early to the Ferry terminal at the north of the city for a trip to one of these islands, Rangitoto, home to New Zealand's largest volcano!

The ferry trip gave some nice views of the Auckland backdrop - I got a bit snap-happy wit the camera here!

When we landed at Rangitoto, I hiked to the volcano summit. The hike itself wasn't too steep, but the terrain, formed of black lava and mountain rock, became blisteringly hot under the sun, and I was soon gasping for water!

The Hauraki Gulf is home to some spectacular wildlife like dolphins, killer whales and blue penguins and I yearned to see them, unfortunately though it requires shelling out $150 for a 4-hour safari cruise. Maybe I'll wait til Kaikoura!

As an alternative, I headed to another of Auckland's biggest attractions, an "Antarctic Encounter" aquarium to see some of New Zealand's marine life. I rode a snowcat through NZ's only colony of King and Gentoo penguins, which I found fascinating! Also on show were giant squids, stingrays, piranhas and great white sharks, all of which have been found off New Zealand's coasts. Better be careful when I go surfing there!

For my next and final day in Auckland, running out ideas for places to go with Auckland's lack of public transport, I eventually settled on Auckland Zoo, which probably wasn't the greatest idea - weekend visit meant the place was crawling with noisy kids and their parents, and most of the interesting animals were asleep anyway. I rounded off the day going to a local bar showing a free live blues band. With a 2-hour set consisting of some fantastic Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Cream songs these guys really made my day! Auckland's high prices struck again though, at $8 (about 4 pounds) per pint, hence the one drink per hour routine!

So that's it for my Auckland stay, tomorrow (Monday 26th) I start the 3-week Kiwi Experience bus tour beginning at the Coromandel Peninsula, Whitanga on the north coast. I have to say, seeing what's lined up I simply can't wait, it's gonna be awesome!

Anyway I seem to have rambled way too much, I'll finish now before I have to pay for yet another 1/2 hour at this internet cafe!

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Photos

Auckland Central
Sky Tower, sticking up on the right

Giant tortoise
These things are huge - takes 5 guys to lift it!

Comments

[Chris]

Asians
Wow, good to know that it'll feel exactly like home. Man, I bet bet asian folk in New Zealand must be the mellowest people ever!

[Roshin]

Good blog
Hi, your blog is great, a honest from the heart account of your experiences. Specially your views on the high costs involved. :) And don't make it short, let it flow, from the heart, as you see and feel it. Enjoy.