Awoke at 9 and took a much needed shower. I'm sure my dorm mates appreciated it. Packed up my things and brought them down to the storage area and had fruit for breakfast as I enjoyed free wifi in the hostel lounge. It really is sad how we are all glued to our phones, but I'm no exception. I walked through Queens St once again in search of the Department of Conservation (DOC) / i-Site building. It was rather hard to find but once I was there I gathered numerous brochures and information booklets that I needed. I spoke to the DOC agent and she answered some of my pressing questions but was rather rude and not entirely helpful. I still feel just as lost in my pursuit to venture and to stay in the many areas outside of Auckland.
I walked closely over to the ferry building where I'm going to go to
tomorrow at 1 to catch the bus to Waihi to meet Alison. I'm looking forward to it and ready to see something other than this bustling city. I went on to find a few of the outdoor gear shops I saw the night before. After, I headed back for the hostel and went up to claim a bed in my new assigned dorm room. Yet again, only top bunks remained. A few German boys were in there and we exchanged stories for a bit.
And then I found myself yet again in the lounge. I talked briefly to a German girl as we charged our phones and then struck up a conversation with a New Zealander who had just spent 10 years in London. He was staying at the hostel but actually lives in Nelson on the South Island near the Abel Tasman track. We talked for awhile and he gave me some good info. He said if I'm in Nelson we could meet up and him and his mates go out on boats and that me and my friends could come along. Official Kiwi Facebook friend #1.
I had enough of being inside and saw that it was a nice night so I started the hour walk to Mount Eden. Once I got off of Queen St it was much quieter. Mount Eden looked neat as I walked closer to it even though it's just a big green hill in the middle of the city. I decided I'd try to go to the top but once I entered the reserve the path didn't exactly go up, or go anywhere for that matter. Besides I was hungry and wanted to double back to the fish and chips joint I passed and smelt along the way. It was called The Ancient Mariner -kiwi as fish n chips. I had battered gurnard fish and Kumara chips which are sweet potato fries. Yum! Continued back to the hostel as it got dark, found myself tired and headed for bed.
