Thursday 19th June
I had quite a few things to get sorted out while I was in Auckland. Apart from going to the hospital to get my arm looked at, I wanted to look for some winter clothes as I would surely need them later in the trip (and they would also come in very handy when the time comes to go back home to a winter in Derry).
I headed out of the hostel and decided to go on a wee diversion down towards Mount Eden to check it out as it was a sunny morning. Mount Eden is a nice area, similar to some of the 'villages' you might find in London and other large cities. It's full of cafes, pubs and restaurants and seems to be a place for the well-off. I bought some food and took it with me up to the top of Mount Eden to check out the view. Mount Eden is one of sixty three dormant volcanoes that dot the city skyline. There is a large crater – covered in grass – that sits in the middle, and beyond this hill you can see all around Auckland. Another of these hills is that of 'One Tree Hill', which was the inspiration for one of U2's songs from their 'Joshua Tree' album. It was very relaxing to sit up there and take it all in; Auckland is actually a very good looking city.
I took a walk into town and got myself familiar with the place. I stopped off in the 'Kathmandu' store and discovered that their winter sale was starting the next day. Some of the regular prices were a lot cheaper than those I would expect for pay for in London, and I made a note of what I might need. I then paid a visit to the library and stayed there for a few hours to work on my diary.
Later in the evening, I got some groceries and went back to the hostel for dinne, got chatting to some of the other guests in the hostel – many of whom were German – and just chilled out for the evening.
