I landed in Auckland on the evening of December 6th and I made my way into the city on the Skybus, which dropped me right in front of Base Backpackers, my hostel for the night. I chose Base for its proximity to the bus station which I needed to get to early the next morning.
After checking in, I wandered around the Queen Street area, had dinner at a Korean restaurant, and then called it a night. Unfortunately, my room at Base was two levels above a bar, and the loud music went on until 2.30am. Even after the music stopped, the bar patrons hung around the street talking loudly. I hardly got any sleep.