Auckland Arrival
Trip Start
Sep 22, 2008
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Trip End
Feb 12, 2009
Auckland,
North Island,
New Zealand
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The temperature was quite a shock after Fiji, out came the jeans, trainers & jumpers - feeling very at home in the rain! I had a steady first evening wandering around to get a feel for the place and managed to book onto a free Auckland orientation day trip the following day, with a guided tours company called 'Stray'. With Nancy as our driver & Craig the guide, we got underway. Unfortunately, there was more rain for the day ahead. Our tour took in the sky tower which is New Zealand's tallest building and Mount Eden, an old volcano to take in the views over the city. We were told of a time when, a few years ago, a group of people put a load of car tyres in the summit of the volcano & set them alight. When the city residents looked up and saw the smoke billowing from the volcano, everyone panicked (as you would), even though it was supposedly dormant. The police & services were all too scared to go up and check it out, so started evacuating the city. It wasn't until the fire eventually went out & people realised it was April 1st, that it dawned on everyone that it was actually a hoax! To this day, the people responsible have never been caught!
We then took in a local pub for lunch with much appreciated open fire, before we headed around the harbour, taking in the views before getting harnessed up to walk across the harbour bridge. We arrived at a pod/capsule where one of the guys bungy jumped, getting dunked in the water below. This inspired another 6 people to jump, however I can't say I was tempted in the slightest. So off we went back to the bus to get dropped off at our hostels again; the end of the trip. I then went out for pizza with a couple of the girls from my room, good day had by all.
My final day spent in Auckland was another wander around the city, also booking my tour bus for the rest of travels in New Zealand. I decided on 'Stray', opting for a North and South Island pass (Moe), along with a Patch pass to cover the Bay of Islands & Cape Reinga, the very northern part of NZ. Finally feeling fairly organised, a rare occasion for me; I got myself packed and ready for the early pickup the following morning when my Stray adventure was to begin....
