Monday 27 October 2014

Auckland

In Sydney I was hyper organised to make the most of my limited time there. I've been in Auckland a week and my first few days consisted of simply running sorting out my bank account and working out what to do. My first day of actually seeing Auckland was on a free bus tour run by stay bus. Did you know stay tour guides are contractually obligated to talk about trees? Well the most important plant in New Zealand is the silver fern. For a start it is their national emblem. More importantly you can use it as an arrow to point the direction you've travelled in if lost on a hike. The silver side reflects moonlight and so can be used at night. Originally they were used to direct Maori warriors back home after a raid on another tribe. The directions of the ferns would be changed on their way back to confuse any pursuers.

The day also included a BBQ on the beach. The weather was all warm and sunny until we actually started the BBQ at which point it immediately switched to wind and rain. Once again I've also done a Saturday park run, this time at Cornwell park. This isn't your run of the mill park. It has sheep and a volcanic crater next to the top of one tree hill. One tree hill use to have a single tree at the top but that was cut down by Maori activists, I don't know the full details but the upshot is there isn't a tree there anymore. It does however have sweeping panoramic views of Auckland which is a plus. Also of note is Mt Eden which also has sweeping panoramic views and a delightful volcanic crater.
Auckland is built on top a group of volcanoes some of which the guidebook assures me are still active. My other activity of note was a cycle ride round Auckland. This involved going past parks beaches and mud flats. Due to the aforementioned volcanoes there were plenty of climbs and thrilling descents. The highlight for me was a cycleway barred to pedestrians. I thought I'd check this out and found myself on a long continuous climb. However I realised that this would mean an exciting roller coaster of a descent when I turned around. Sure enough I went back at full speed with nothing to stop me. It wasn't exactly a bungee jump but still thrilling for a bicycle ride. I am pretty sure the cycle way was built with this express purpose in mind. Other activities in Auckland include a night of free beer at the hostel bar and a quiz night. I've actually made a few friends in Auckland. Overall a very pleasant city but ultimately I came to New Zealand for sweeping wilderness which is why I'm heading south on Wednesday towards Wellington where I intend to live for a few months.
 


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