It was still raining really heavily when I woke up this morning and very windy. I started getting my stuff sorted for the flight tomorrow first thing and then headed off with a big list of things to do in the city today before leaving the first world for at least 6 month. I could not take my bike as I did not have a bike lock and so decided to walk. I went to the Chinese Embassy first to see if I could pick up my visa from town today rather than having to post it all. It was not possible to do today as I need to have approval regarding Tibet beforehand. The internet is a bit ambiguous about various parts of the process. At least I spoke to someone to clear it up. I then had to go and get a cable bike lock to replace the one which fell out yesterday and then pick up a replacement key for my D lock. I also tried to find a couple of other small things like a water proof case for my ipod and a coffee pot but failed.
It was quite a long walk via all of these places to downtown Auckland and it took me most of the morning. Walking around a city is a great way to take in the atmosphere and really see a place. On the way there was a great shop which had huge metal models of different characters. The models are made of normal medal parts that you could pick up at a junk yard. They were absolutely awesome and I really enjoyed it....
I met Chris Harper in downtown Auckland. He is the cousin of my mother's boyfriend. He was traveling in Australia when I was there but we kept on missing each other by a few days. It turned out that he was in Auckland for the weekend renewing his visa at the same time that I am here and so we planned to meet up. It turned out to be a really fun few hours. We went for lunch at a cheap (£5) all you can eat Chinese buffet (my choice - yes I am such a skinflint these days on my budget) and then for a wonder round town. We ended up at the harbor right in downtown and then had the dilemma as to whether to sit and have a glass of wine in the sun looking out at the harbor or to head on and see Westhaven harbor (the harbor that Auckland is famous for). It was not a problem for me as I could go and see the harbor went Chris had left for his flight. When we saw the bar with the cowboy seats there was no contest and we both headed straight for the bar without even having to discuss it :-)
Chris's flight was at 6.50 and he planned to catch the 3pm bus (1 hour to the airport). However, a glass of wine or 2, some excellent banter and laughs and there we were standing at the bus stop at 4.36 with Chris getting very nervous. In fairness the buses were supposed to be every 15 mins and we had been there since 4. I am glad to say that he did catch his flight back to Sydney but only by 5 mins - we could have had that extra glass of wine. Chris is an absolute laugh and so easy to get on with. I had a really lovely afternoon with him.
When Chris had caught his bus I carried on my walking tour of Auckland and went to see the famous Westhaven harbor - which I have to say is very impressive. Auckland is different to anywhere else in NZ. It is a proper big city with old buildings and loads of people and businesses. I was really glad that the weather had improved at lunch time and I got to see it in the sunshine. Everyone keeps telling me how the weather is normally really great and sunny and how unlucky I have been to have several bad days of weather.
I decided to walk back rather than catch the bus so that I could see more of the city and save my pennies. It was a very long way though and it took me several hours to do. I walked up the two major volcanoes in the city on the way back to look at the views of the city.
Mt @@@@ over looks downtown and there is a good path up to the top. I found it very strange to see a creator in the middle.
I did not get back until 8.45 having walked around for most of the day. I felt a bit bad as I would have liked to chat with Lesley and Pete some more but it took me longer to walk than I was expecting. I had some things to do on the internet in preparation for India and so by the time I had done this, eaten and packed it was about 12.30. Arrrggg I had to be up in about 3 hours.
NZ has been awesome! Thanks to everyone I met for being so lovely and making my stay so enjoyable. Cheers for all of the food, accommodation and friendship.
It was quite a long walk via all of these places to downtown Auckland and it took me most of the morning. Walking around a city is a great way to take in the atmosphere and really see a place. On the way there was a great shop which had huge metal models of different characters. The models are made of normal medal parts that you could pick up at a junk yard. They were absolutely awesome and I really enjoyed it....
I met Chris Harper in downtown Auckland. He is the cousin of my mother's boyfriend. He was traveling in Australia when I was there but we kept on missing each other by a few days. It turned out that he was in Auckland for the weekend renewing his visa at the same time that I am here and so we planned to meet up. It turned out to be a really fun few hours. We went for lunch at a cheap (£5) all you can eat Chinese buffet (my choice - yes I am such a skinflint these days on my budget) and then for a wonder round town. We ended up at the harbor right in downtown and then had the dilemma as to whether to sit and have a glass of wine in the sun looking out at the harbor or to head on and see Westhaven harbor (the harbor that Auckland is famous for). It was not a problem for me as I could go and see the harbor went Chris had left for his flight. When we saw the bar with the cowboy seats there was no contest and we both headed straight for the bar without even having to discuss it :-)
Chris's flight was at 6.50 and he planned to catch the 3pm bus (1 hour to the airport). However, a glass of wine or 2, some excellent banter and laughs and there we were standing at the bus stop at 4.36 with Chris getting very nervous. In fairness the buses were supposed to be every 15 mins and we had been there since 4. I am glad to say that he did catch his flight back to Sydney but only by 5 mins - we could have had that extra glass of wine. Chris is an absolute laugh and so easy to get on with. I had a really lovely afternoon with him.
When Chris had caught his bus I carried on my walking tour of Auckland and went to see the famous Westhaven harbor - which I have to say is very impressive. Auckland is different to anywhere else in NZ. It is a proper big city with old buildings and loads of people and businesses. I was really glad that the weather had improved at lunch time and I got to see it in the sunshine. Everyone keeps telling me how the weather is normally really great and sunny and how unlucky I have been to have several bad days of weather.
I decided to walk back rather than catch the bus so that I could see more of the city and save my pennies. It was a very long way though and it took me several hours to do. I walked up the two major volcanoes in the city on the way back to look at the views of the city.Mt @@@@ over looks downtown and there is a good path up to the top. I found it very strange to see a creator in the middle.
I did not get back until 8.45 having walked around for most of the day. I felt a bit bad as I would have liked to chat with Lesley and Pete some more but it took me longer to walk than I was expecting. I had some things to do on the internet in preparation for India and so by the time I had done this, eaten and packed it was about 12.30. Arrrggg I had to be up in about 3 hours.
NZ has been awesome! Thanks to everyone I met for being so lovely and making my stay so enjoyable. Cheers for all of the food, accommodation and friendship.
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