Kia Ora!
Here I am after 3 days in Auckland, and what a city it is! Auckland is very clean and very calm. I know what you're thinking, if you ask anyone from New Zealand they say that it's very busy and commercial. I guess that puts the rest of New Zealand in perspective because honestly Auckland is lovely. There are street cleaners that wash the sidewalks every evening, it's not too crowded, and there is a lovely harbour and a mountain. It reminds me a bit of Toronto and Montreal. After my trip to New York it was a walk in the park.
What we did notice was that there was very little to do. It is most likely a lovely place to live but the tourist attractions are $$$
We did hike up Mount Eden and have a lovely picnic and view of the city, and take the time to orient ourselves to New Zealand. Danielle and I did a day trip to Waiheke Island which was really exciting. It was sort of like cottage country meets beach town. A lot of people on the ferry either lived there or have cottages out there. We went through the whole island, walking and bussing, and stopped in Onetangi for the beach, Onstend for the market, and Oneroa for the beach/ice cream/fish and chips!
Now we are taking a bus out to Coromandel Penninsula where we will visit Hot Water Beach, and stay in Whitanga for a few days!
I'll update you soon! Stay warm back home, I have a sunburn! :P
