Auckland

Kia Ora New Zealand!

Monday night we arrived at Auckland airport and were immediately picked up by Alex and Jen, the amazing English/Kiwi couple we met in Vietnam and later again in Siem Reap, who would host us for the following 3 nights with all inclusive service.

After catching up and a good nights sleep, we spent our first day with Alex in NZ around Auckland (Jen already has to work, tough world), mostly enjoying amazing views over the city, the isthmus and the surrounding volcanoes, islands and the sea. We took the ferry to Davenport, climbed a little hill there and on the summit got showered by the first rain since Chiang Mai. Later, we headed up the Southern coastline for a bit up to One Tree Hill, the one from the U2 song. Great views all along, especially of the amazingly turquoise ocean. Luckily, the sun had come out by then, so we could really enjoy it.

The next morning, still with Alex, we went on a walking tour around the city, like the ones in Australia. Those are generally free and work on a tip basis and have been very good so far. They also enable you to see most of the sights of a city while getting information beyond the lonely planet and seeing things you usually would have missed. After a fish and chips lunch we bought an excellent IPA at a craft beer market and explored hipster Auckland for a little bit.

Unfortunately, this was already the end of our trip to Auckland. A nice city, that at least in summer has more than enough stuff going on to never get bored. New Zealand is also slightly cheaper than Australia, so we have the feeling of striking bargains all the time which is of course just self delusion, but that's fine ;).

Fun fact: some kiwis walk barefoot in the city. Just because they can and nobody cares...Read more