Sky City

After over 11 hours on the bus we arrived into Sky City in Auckland. It was a very picturesque journey where we saw quite a lot of the northern island, even crossing the desert road. We stopped once in a small cafe between Ohingaiti and Mangaweka where we stretched our legs and ate. Our second stop was in Taupo with much more to look at where we wandered the streets a little bit. We were glad to get off the bus but were soon accosted by a local in his underpants gurning and running around! After this unusual welcome we headed off quickly to find our hotel.

Uphill hotel

After 11 hours sitting a walk did stretch the legs but we were not prepared for the hills in Auckland. It seemed our hotel was perched on top of a never ending hill and after some wandering in circles we found it tucked next to a long skinny, very dark park. The hotel was an uninviting concert structure which had seen better days but the staff were friendly and the room was spacious and clean. The view from the windows was the same dark skinny park we had nearly got lost in trying to find the hotel and the draft from the single pane glass gave it an even more sinister quality. The curtains remained closed for most of our stay.

The area our hotel was in turned out to be quite vibrant. There was a little arcade down the road that contained a few small bars, food places and cafes. The road was also lined with lots of small independent shops and food places that we were spoiled for choice for lunch and dinner. After one excursion we found Moustache Milk & Cookie bar, this little gem sold cookie dough ready for eating or baking. Lets just say it didn’t make it to be baked. On another late night trip for food we arrived at a rather grim looking burger counter that had great reviews. The Burgrie sold the tastiest burger we had tasted on the trip, complete with hash brown, bacon and some delicious sauces. All of which was vegan! It was so good we went back on another night to indulge while we were still in the country.

Mt. Eden

Not often do you get a chance to walk from a city center a short distance and see a volcano. It was a cloudy day when we made the trip from our hotel through some housing estates to the edge of the small park that contained it. After a decent assent you start to see lovely views over Auckland as it sprawls out and seemingly away from you. Once you reach the summit of this quite green volcano you are confronted by the evidence of it’s past activities. A great circular crater surrounded by a small fence descends away from the tourists above. Again rather green with none of the smoke and lava you would expect from a volcano but impressive none the less.

Ponsonby

By far the classiest place we visited in Auckland was the road of Ponsonby. It was a long street lined with fashionable shops and eateries. In one very nice looking food court was Boar & Blade, a barbers which seemed to have a unusually high amount of bearded men in it. Taking my opportunity I went in for a clean up. Luckily my suspicious were correct and I left with very well groomed beard ready for the next leg of our journey.

Airport

Our time was quite short in Auckland but I felt we had covered a lot. It was a city with many different things going on and we only covered the central business district. As we headed out to the airport anticipating being locked in a tin can for the next 14 hours I felt sad to be leaving New Zealand. We had done so much there that our 2 weeks had felt so much longer. It’s a place I will return to and explore more before too long.