Auckland Domain & Mt Eden

Kim dropped us off at the Gold Coast airport. We were finally able to continue our journey to Auckland, New Zealand. But the layover had not been wasted. We met some awesome people and were able to explore a great part of Australia!

When we arrived, we went through very strict security. New Zealand has been isolated from the rest of the world for longer than many other parts of the world. And customs do a good job of preventing invasive bacteria, fungus, plants and animals from being imported and causing a lot of damage. It was a long wait, slower than security before boarding a plane, but it's great that the government puts such an emphasis on conserving its biodiversity. Unfortunately, as we later learned, the greatest damage had already been done by early settlers, just like in many other parts of the world.

We quickly went looking for a hostel. But because of a holiday weekend, and Comicon, almost all hostels were full! Luckily, a less popular one still had a (windowless) room available. Beggars can't be choosers. We pre-booked for the following two days in a nicer hostel.

While we acclimatised and found our bearings, we did two city hikes. Auckland domain is one of 50 volcanos within the city limits. It had a lovely walk through a rainforest park. At the top, Auckland's main museum overlooks the city. We walked through the volcano's crater and onto the "plug", a small hill, that sealed the last eruption. The top is marked by a sacred Maori tree. We also enjoyed a cold and a warm botanical garden, with many exotic plants.

The following day, Mats hiked to the top of Mount Eden, an even larger volcano in the city. The crater is very steep and defined. And the view of the city and harbour to one side, and the west coast on the other side was beautiful. Especially the patches of cloud created dramatic shade across the landscape.Read more