In my last post I mentioned that I would let you all know how hostel living was going. I've gotta be honest, so far its been great. Sure its only been three days, but it is such relaxed atmosphere you can't help but enjoy it. There are always people around hanging out on the deck, cooking in the kitchen, or in the lounge. There is not shortage of people, which has been pretty nice. With that being said the first night here I became fast friends with my roommate who is from the UK, Rosy. She is travelling solo and is actually quite seasoned at it. We went out to a local brewry, called Brother Brewry and enjoyed a couple of the delicious local beers and chatted away. She is in New Zealand for a couple months as well, so we may meet again down the road.
The second day in the city I booked a hop on/off bus that took me out on the outskirts of the city. I was able to explore the Viaduct harbour and Queens Wharf, which had a magnificant display of sailboats and yachts. It also offered numberous restaraunts and shops along the way. We continued on, taking in the wonderful views of the ocean and what must of been hundreds of different kinds of boats anchored in the bay. We travelled by the Winter Gardens, Eden garden, and then finally I hopped off at Mt. Eden. Mt.Eden is probably Aucklands most famous landmark. It is the highest volcano in Auckland and overlooks the city as well as the Waitemata Harbour. The busses are no longer allowed to go to the top so if you wanted the spectacular views that it had to offer, you had to hike it. It is about a 300 meter hike to the summitfrom the bus stop. I started up the trail about the sametime as another woman and found myself chatting with her all the way up. Her name was Charlotte and she too was from the UK. She was a chatter box, but a true delight to be around. My guess is that she was in her mid 50's. She was on a whirlwind of trip herself. She flew from the UK to California, then onto New Zealand for two weeks, then is going to Australia for three weeks, China for three weeks, Sinagpore for three days, Dubai for three days, and then finally back home just in time for her daughters wedding.
We reached the summit took in the amazing views, took far too many pictures (well actually there is no such thing as too many pictures), and then on our way down we met an older couple who lived in Auckland. Norman and Kathy, have lived here for 40 years, but are both from the UK as well. I don't know what it is about the Brits, but I seem to run into a lot of them! Anyway, we all chatted and laughed for a bit and were on our separate ways again.
The next stop I hopped off at was a suburb called Parnell Village, which is NZ's olderest suburb. It was very cute place to explore. Many of the stores were not on the street front, you had to go down the alleys and there you would find a lot of shops tucked away. I found a woodshop with some beautiful pieces. This shop was a co-op and one of the woodworkers was manning the shop for the day. He gave me great lesson on how he makes his pieces and about the different types of wood that he uses. I would have loved to of bought one of his pieces, but it was a bit out of my price range. From there I hopped back on the bus and headed back to my hostel. I had made plans to meet up with Rosy later that evening, so I was looking forward to chatting with her and swapping stories about our days.
Today is my last day in the city so I wanted to keep it pretty low key and get ready to leave early tomorrow morning. I decided to go out to the local Art Museum (mostly because it was free) and take a look. There were a couple of interesting pieces in there, but overall I was not impressed. I feel like I could have created a few of the pieces of artwork, if you know what I mean. But hey, I never claimed to be an art enthusiast, so maybe they are all wonderfull pieces and are just over my head...I am just grateful it was free....After the museum I went shopping for a few things and have returned to my hostel.
Overall it has been a great three days (no, I am not crazy, I am a day ahead of you all) in the city and I am looking forward to getting out into the countryside.
A few things I have learned so far....
- Everyone is very friendly, both locals and travellers.
- The city is very clean and easy to navigate. - Claim your bed as soon as possible or you'll be stuck with the top bunk. -The internet is very slow, but so far I haven't had to deal with dial up, so I guess I should be grateful.
-Food is super expensive here. Avg dinner at a restaraunt =$20-30... I will be eating mostly at grocery stores.
- A very small bottle of Sunscreen for my pale skin that is just asking to be burnt to a crisp costs $17nzd=about $15usd
- The average cost of a 3 bedroom house within the city of Auckland costs about 1Million New Zealand dollars. (FYI-USD is worth about 20% more that NZD)
-The average income is about $40k
- Lastly, when Bruce Springsteen comes into town you better hope you have already booked a place to stay because he is apparently loved here. I guess the Australians even hop on over when he is in town. I have heard from many different backpackers that there is not a single available hostel or hotel available for the next several days.Thankfully I will be out of here before his concert.
I know most of those are negative things, but don't get me wrong it is wonderful here and I am thrilled to be able to explore this wonderful country.
Click on the link below for photos. I will try to add more when I can, but it is hard with the poor internet connection..
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/gpchh4a0wgj92y8/fsnRnqlOEa
Jenna
