Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Distance Travelled: 7,071 km
Hours in a Plane: 16 hrs over 3 days
After what felt like a million years of travel, I had finally arrived in Auckland, New Zealand. The time difference (+17hrs from Ontario) was a bit disconcerting at first and took time to get used to. Not necessarily because of the jet lag, but because of the difference with home. For example, I flew from Honolulu, HI in the morning of the 16th but technically landed in Australia in the afternoon of the 17th. It’s odd to think that I am an entire day ahead of friends and families (FYI: if anyone wants to know what happens in the future, message me and I’ll hook you up with that info!).
I was kindly picked up by my Airbnb host, whom I’d actually met while on a snorkel tour in Hawaii a few weeks back. I had booked transport to a snorkel site and there was 7 of us in the van. During a round of introduction, this couple mentioned they lived in Auckland and I immediately piped up with “Hey, I’m heading that way in a few weeks!”. Hoping to get some insider information on things to visit, I instead lucked out tremendously: they renting out a room on Airbnb that was cheaper than a hostel. Long story short, the stars fell into alignment and I found myself staying with them for a couple of days in the city. And what amazing hosts they turned out to be! I was made to feel like a welcomed guest in their home instead of simply a paying customer. It was perfect timing as I was trying to navigate my way out of my first month slump, having become a bit of a lazy and out of habit traveller after luxuriating in the Hawaiian Isles for so long.
As the forecast predicted rain for the entire time I’d be in the city (thank you Cyclone Gita), my host immediately took me to climb Mt Eden, the city’s famed volcanic crater. While not a difficult hike (it only takes about 15 minutes on even ground), my travel outfit of jeans and a long sleeve sweater made the journey a hot mess! What is it with my tendency to undertake hikes wearing long sleeve black shirts? A trend I intend not to repeat a third time, let me tell you! Luckily, the view was a sweet reward! 360 view of the entire city.
A view of the harbour side of the city; the SkyTower (CN tower lookalike) can be seen on the right
I only had two days to explore the city so I opted to take a free (my favourite) walking tour of the city. 3 hours later and I felt I had gained a morsel of information about New Zealand and Auckland. And I’ll admit, after spending most of my time in the water of lying on the beach, I had gotten out of the habit of pounding the pavement! As well, again thanks to the approaching cyclone, Auckland was experiencing a massive heat wave with incredible humidity. I was literally melting, slowly but surely, as I walked around Auckland’s city sights.
Similar to Canada, New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy and Queen Victoria is responsible for the “formal” founding of the country.
Auckland has some very interesting trees!
There are many city provided spots for Aucklanders to hang out or hide from the sun spread throughout the city, this one being the coolest by far: bean bags provided for workers to chill out during their lunch time!
My time in the city was short and to be honest, slightly unremarkable. Not that I didn’t enjoy Auckland, but it wasn’t necessarily one of my most anticipated cities and I didn’t have any specific plans while I was there. However, my time with my new Kiwi friends was, by far, the highlight and exactly what I needed at the moment!