When I was planning this trip there was a piece of advice that I came across time and time again which read as follows, "When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money." Well I saved about £4500 pounds for spending money after flights, insurance etc. and set off with a backpack that weighed about 10kg and it seems as though I got the equation a little off as I´m now finding out that I went away with about two thirds of the money and about a quarter of the clothes required for this eight month trip - although having a super light rucksack has been very beneficial when plodding around a new city in search of a hostel or running for a departing bus or train. The money is rapidly running out - although a recent tax rebate from good old "linea directa" has proved to be a vital lifeline - and the clothes I took away with me are starting to disintegrate. The hard-wearing Merrell walking shoes I spent £100 on were stolen by some BASTARD when I was in Laos and the lamentable position I now find myself in is that I can´t actually afford to buy any new clothes or shoes because of the European prices down under and although I got a few t-shirts in Bangkok, I´m wondering why the hell I didn't stock up on some more affordable threads when I was in cheap-as-chips Asia. Total and complete lack of foresight would be the answer to that question; a predicament that is slowly reducing me to trampdom as the structural integrity of my shorts are starting to heavily rely on the sewing kit a friend of mine gave me before I left. The hiccup at the beginning of the trip when I niavely got rooked by those ruthless individuals in Delhi is finally starting to bite as the funds are approaching critical mass and my expensive although incredibly fun stint over in Australia has not been kind to my woeful bank balance. This, I´m sure, sounds like a great deal of complaining, and it is, but I wanted to vent my financial issues and thought I may as well do it here as managing funds is a big part of the long-term travelling lifestyle. The key to dealing with the irritating nature of money, or lack thereof, while away on a long trip is to know how to work around the matter and if you´ve read my previous posts you will know that I managed to get a lot out of Australia, albeit on a very tight budget, thanks to the kindness and generosity of fellow travellers, ON YA! oli, sally and jasper!
Right then, enough of the moaning, what´s next? New Zealand! Initially I had planned to fly to Christchurch, a city which rests about half way up New Zealand´s south island and gradually make my way up to Auckland on the North island over land but as a result of my new found financial restraints I had to alter my flight details - the STA multi-flex pass has become a life saver - to fly straight to Auckland and spend the couple of weeks I was in New Zealand solely in Auckland making the most of it on a shoestring budget and trying to save some money for the Latin beast who´s vast head is looming... Although I obviously would have loved to see more of New Zealand, the weeks I spent in NZ´s largest city were very pleasant and the slower pace of life was actually hugely welcomed as the last five months or so have been pretty hectic and non-stop. In regards to seeing Australia and New Zealand in more detail, I think that unless your Richie Rich it´s necessary to work and travel there as I have come across many many people who have moved over to those lands on a working visa which is apparently very easy to acquire (as long as you´re under 30) and have worked their way around...so you never know I might be back there again one day doing just that...! In addition to being able to base myself in one place for awhile there were other factors that made my stay there immeasurably more enjoyable as I was fortunate to know a few people who were living in the city. Some friends of the Saunders family, Mike and Fiona Woods, were kind enough to let me stay at their house for awhile and a couple of good friends from back home, Mark and Joe, were also living in Auckland having been travelling/working around New Zealand for the past six months. My time in Auckland therefore was divided into two periods, the first week was spent at "the Woods" who lived just across the harbour and the final ten days were spent at the Cosy Kiwi hostel in town which was where Mark and Joe were basing themselves and as a result i´ll divide Auckland into two corresponding posts which cover both periods respectively. Arriving in Auckland after a brief three hour stride over the Tasman Sea from Melbourne, I was met at the airport by Mark who had rolled up in one of the vans which he had borrowed from his work - the company, Escape Vans, hires out graffiti-covered camper vans for travellers who want to see New Zealand in their own leisurely way. In regards to the city itself, Auckland occupies a narrow isthmus of land that connects the Northern peninsula to the rest of the country’s North island and the city centre itself nestles between Manukau harbour on the Tasman Sea to the west and Waitemata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean to the east. As a result of being in such close proximity to the Tasman and Pacific, Auckland is interestingly one of only a few cities in the world to have harbours on two separate major bodies of water and at certain points less than 10km separates the sea from the ocean and this can clearly be seen from the top of Mt. Eden which rests just south of the city centre. Due to it´s vast harbours which are heavily populated by an army of yachts, the city has earned the nickname "The City of Sails" although maybe a more appropriate name would be the "City of Volcanoes" as Auckland, unbelievably, rests on a dense Volcanic field which is made up of forty-eight volcanoes which are thankfully now all dormant (I think!). Browsing through a tourist information leaflet that I picked up at the airport it also became apparent that Auckland, geographically, is very similar to the city of Sydney - although obviously on a smaller scale; a comparison I was able to make having just visited Australia´s "Harbor City". In both cities, the centre huddles around a central harbour that is connected to the North headland by a harbour bridge and both have ferries that can transport you all over the area.
Cruising towards the city in Mark´s work van, I caught my first glimpse of the Auckland skyline; an island of concete giants that is dominated by a large skytower which upon first glance, looks like a massive syringe that is in the process of injecting a dose of prosperity into the blue sky above. Mark did a brief lap of the city centre, cruising down the major thoroughfare Queen Street which cuts the city centre in half before driving along Tamaki Drive towards Mission Bay where we caught up over a beer, having not seen each other since we both left England´s fair shores over six months ago. Mark and Joe, upon reaching New Zealand back in October bought a van and had spent the past six months driving and working their way around New Zeland's North and South islands, finally settling in Auckland for their last two months in the country before they gradually make their way back to Blighty via Australia and South East Asia. Mark had picked up a job cleaning vans for Escape and Joe "Captain-Calcium" Edwards had become a successful door to door milk salesman and after hearing his cheesy sales pitch "Hey there! I´m your new milkman! Can you spare five minutes for a cheeky English lad?" I soon understood why....After a few more beers with Mark back in town, I hopped on the local ferry over to the suburb of Birkenhead which lies just north over the harbour and was greeted by Fiona and Mike Woods, friends of the family who kindly said I could stay for a few days, which generously turned into a week. Signing their visitors book, I came across a certain M. Saunders who first arrived at the Woods in October 1982, following in the old mans footsteps and all! Those seven days were spent catching the 974 into town everyday and strolling the streets, relaxing in Albert Park and the Auckland Domain (two very nice inner city green parks) and enjoying the glorious sunshine which had finally made a welcome appearance after an apparently miserable couple of weeks weatherwise. On one of the days over in Birkenhead, in addition to their hospitality, the Woods offered to take me for a ride in their newly acquired camper van to check out a bit of the West coast for the day which I was only too happy to accept as it gave me a chance to at least see a little of life and the countryside outside of Auckland. The first stop on the mini-tour was Muriwai beach that rests about 40km West of Auckland and as well as being a very popular spot for surfers the area also plays home to a large colony of gannets (large sea birds) which populate the cliff walls and rock stacks that stand above choppy waves below. It seems I got lucky with the weather as apparently it normally chucks it down here most days but I was fortunate enough to be blessed with a clear blue sky, perfect visibility of the area which allowed me to look all the way up the coast and a scorching sun. Looking down at the beach from the cliff top, the water was littered by a blanket of surfers who had been attracted to New Zeland´s West coast to enjoy the fine weather and, to my eyes at least, big waves - although Mike said that they were nothing compared to the monsters that trample in some days. The beach here is also unique due to it´s black sand caused by the iron content derived from the volcanoes in the area; interesting but not inviting for sunbathing! After spending some time observing the gannets going about their business and seeing a few surfing wipe outs down on the crashing waves we all hopped back in the camper van and continued the loop curving gradually back towards Auckland through rolling countryside that was rich in forest and sheep-grazing farm land. Passing by Helensville and then onto Waiwera and Orewa beaches - the latter with it´s thermal springs - before heading back to Birkenhead after a thoroughly enjoyable day out of the city.
Aside from Albert park, another favourite hang out in Auckland for me was the free weekly cultural gigs which were staged at Aotea Square, a meeting point for locals at the top of Queen Street. Seeing as I was in Auckland for just shy of three weeks I managed to catch a couple of these shows however the first week with Soul Samba Circus and the mighty Zoh Zoh was the best one I saw although the Maori hip-hop crew, Valiant Boys, doing a rendition of Biggie´s "Juicy" was also a highlight. Every Thursday a small stage was set up in the corner of the square with giant bean bags and deck chairs provided, although more often that not, the bands got people up and dancing barefoot on the grass lawn! Zoh Zoh were so good in fact, that I end this first post on Auckland with another edition of Biggle Vision (click on the Youtube button to expand in a new window)... enjoy the African vibes! The guy on guitar is Maori by the way, just to get the New Zealand fix.
x
The Auckland skyline from the Harbour bridge. As you can see from the numerous yachts, the "City of Sails" is an appropriate nickname.
Location of Auckland in New Zealand.
Arriving by ferry into the centre of Auckland.
The Auckland sky tower. The tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Giant syringe.
Spent a lot of time in Auckland, so many of the days were spent chilling in Albert Park reading a book. Really relaxed place where students tend to hang out when taking their lunch from the univeristy which is just over the road.
Muriwai Beach
Muriwai Beach.
The surreal black sand is due to iron content in the land.
Heaps of surfers were out in force to enjoy the waves and sunshine.
The rock stacks were home to a colony of gannets.
The adults are the white ones with yellow heads and the young are the grey ones. While we were there the younger birds were flapping their wings, building up their strength for the important first flight!
Driving back to Auckland past rolling green hills.
Aotea Square watching Soul Samba Circus.
Aotea Square watching Zoh Zoh. The African roots band.
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