Day 64 – Howdy Captain Cook

To me this is day 64 but to you its day 65 as I’ve crossed the international date line. My head hurts trying to work this out!

Landed in Auckland at 6am. Got through customs and bio screening without any issues, we had been worried about our walking shoes. Did a few tickets and fact finding errands at the airport before catching the bus to the city.

Found the Intercity bus terminal with ease (its under the Sky Tower). We dropped the bags off and went for the now customary Starbucks.

First thoughts on New Zealand – heart warming. the view on the ride into Auckland had so many things that reminded me of home, simple things like the pavements and road signs. Dumb I know, but the further the bus went the more I relaxed.

finishing our coffee we crossed the road to sky city and went up the Sky Tower, the highest tower in the southern hemisphere. Rising from the concrete forest floor we emerged into a canopy of bright lights and views of a shimmering sea and volcanic islands; it took my breath away. At 9am no one was at the top deck so I got to sit down and enjoy the view uninterrupted for some time.

The birds eye view of the city gave us a good idea of where to go in the city. We exited the tower and headed to the seafront via a nearby park. The park smelt like spring and contained twisted trees that, at night, would be at home in a horror film. On the seafront we passed the stunning Hilton, on the pier.

Following a bit of shopping we headed to the park to read and relax before our coach trip to Paihia (pronounced pie here).

The four hour coach journey was comfortable enough for me to doze off in between gawping at the scenery. The views were a mixture of so many places I’ve seen around the world; rolling hills and pastures of Guernsey to my left and small islands of Thailand to my right. I thought to myself “this place has everything”.

The bus dropped us off right outside our hostel and we were lucky enough to get an empty dorm to ourselves. The view here again was strange; English village to my left and tropical beach to my right. the weather however all English – cold and gray!