Auckland and the surroundings

During the time, that we spent in the region of Hamilton, the weather was constantly bad and so we couldn’t do a lot. Which means, you can always do something indoors, which we did for example in Hamilton, when going to the museum, but I am more the outdoor and landscape type of person. And with the rain and constantly grey and cloudy days, it is hard to enjoy or even really see the landscape. In Raglan, we went at least to some beaches to have a walk, even with the bad weather. But, it was also low season and almost no people and no action was at the water. We went to Auckland, as we had gotten an offer for working there and started searching for accommodation, just to get to know, it wouldn’t work out. That was a little depressing and as the weather wasn’t better yet, we decided to continue to the North, where the weather should be better. In Whangarei, we were lucky again and found a very friendly and cosy hostel to stay.

From there, we went to the Whangarei Falls and did a close-by Canopy Walk to see the typical Kauri trees. It is the largest and one of the tallest tree species in New Zealand as well as one of the most ancient in the world. In the evening, we cooked and now we will have every day another dish with asparagus as the season has started and we both love asparagus! Noodles, salad, or other dishes, we add the typical green asparagus to everything and it is even pretty cheap.

The next day, we wanted to visit the Abbey Caves to see again some glowworms, but as we didn’t have helmets, neither lights and we were told that without it was too dangerous, we skipped that part of the plan. Instead, we drove to the Town Basin for walking around the city and art galleries. In the afternoon, we drove, together with another guy to the Bird Recovery Centre, where they treat ill and injured birds, to let them free afterwards. The owner was friend with the owner of our backpacker, which was why we got special entry fees and special allowances. He showed us around the centre and all the different birds. They had some very new born baby birds -sadly I forgot how they were called – and five day old baby kiwis. We even had the possibility to pet a Kiwi, which normally is prohibited. This one, will stay his whole life in the Centre, as he lost one of his legs and couldn’t survive on his own. They also had a very big albatross, who they were treating at the moment and let free in about one week. One of the speaking Tuis talked to me: ”Can I invite you on a beer? ”. I was so surprised and first didn’t know, who was speaking. The bird repeated it several times, until I noticed that it was him. When I came back with my friends to show them, he only said "hello". I have to admit, I felt a bit flattered. It was a very interesting day for all of us.

We headed back in the direction of Auckland, after a small trip to the very north of the North Island. First, we stopped in a small village called Orewa, which lies on the non-paid road. There are actually only two paid roads in whole New Zealand and these are the only ones, where you are allowed to drive faster than 100 km/h, up to the limit of 120 km/h. There, we found a small backpacker, which even gave us 50% reduction of all close-by attractions. Of course, we used that to relax in the Waiwera Hotpools, before we returned back to the stressful – regarding car driving – Auckland. In Auckland, we visited the Kelly Tarltons Sea Life Aquarium- which is, oh wonder, the biggest in the southern hemisphere- and saw all the penguins, brooding their eggs, huge crabs, sea stars and sea horses in all colours, Nemo, sharks and rays being fed. It was a colourful and interesting day, good to be spent inside, because outside it was not very nice.

The next day, we seemed to be a little luckier with the weather and so climbed Mount Eden, the biggest of the 50 volcanoes on which Auckland is built. From there, you have an amazing and probably one of the best views over the city. The rest of the day, we spent exploring the haven and the city, which is pretty big. It is the biggest city in New Zealand, and actually should be the capital, but as Wellington is located more central, it got the capital instead.

One day, I went on a guided city tour, because I like getting more information and not only seeing things without explications. It started at 9 o’clock and we firstly drove around the CBD; which is the Central Business District, the big port and the Waterfront. I got to know that Auckland has the biggest importing haven in the World. I was surprised that I didn’t think of Auckland as so ugly as everyone says. Especially the Viaduct Basin, the Viaduct Harbour and the Wynyard Quarter are very beautiful. We drove a bit further from the city to the Parnell Drive – that is where the New Zealand Prime minister lives -, the Tamaki Drive, which is a pretty region with pretty houses, and Mission Bay. We visited the Auckland Museum and there had some time to look around ourselves. It contained some exhibitions about New Zealand, Maori and its history, mainly focused on wars and the armouries. After a lunch break, we went on a Harbour Cruise to get a better idea about the harbour, the Harbour Bridge – where we even saw a bungee jumper -, Devonport, which is a wine region, Waitemata Harbour and the Rangitoto Island. Of course, all this was accompanied by explanations.

The island is the most recent volcano in Auckland, only having developed 600 years ago. On the island, you can find many different kinds of birds and two years – now five years – ago, it was stated as being free of pest, which refers to rabbits and possums – they are a real plague in the whole country. The end was, going up the 328 metres high Sky Tower and to enjoy the view from two different floors (the 51st and the 60th). For the brave ones, there is a possibility to do the SkyJump or SkyWalk, we even saw some people doing it. The SkyJump is not a real bungee Jump, as it is too dangerous with the tower. You will jump, with a girth around your waist and shoulders, when reaching the lowest point, they will slow you down and release you on the bottom. The SkyWalk is a walk around the tour. The view is amazing, but if the weather is bad, everything is just a different version of grey. I met with my boyfriend and we went to see SkyCity, the Casino – where only I could enter, because he wasn’t old enough – and some bars and restaurant, which is all inside the tower. In the evening, we continued our way in the direction of the Coromandel peninsula. We wanted to leave our bad accommodation, which was the only thing still free – Auckland seems to be overrun by tourists at that time – and also, as I told you before, I am more the country person and the few days in Auckland have been enough for me.

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