The first full day in Auckland was spent wandering around and seeing what was around. We went back down to the Viaduct Harbour where we first came in via the ferry. Some of the super yachts down there were incredible, worth hundreds of millions and they looked like it to. Now I just need to work out a way to get rich enough to get one!
In other spectacular news, on the second night in the city, we managed to do our washing and didn't ruin, shrink or destroy any of our clothes; Mum should be proud!
After a slightly delayed start on the second day due to laziness (11:30am before we were out the hostel), we headed over to the main attraction, the Sky Tower. As you would expect there are great 360 degree views from the top, though the cafe left a lot to be desired, including my chocolate muffin which they ran out of! We headed up again later for an additional $2 with the intention of watching the sun-set and seeing Auckland at night but the clouds closed in so we gave up and went back to the hostel. we finally got round to writing the postcards we bought in San Fran; we also marked some places on a map where we wanted to go, the beginnings of a plan possibly!
I had planned to get up early the next day to go and climb Mt Eden, however as with everything that involves early starts and me it didn't really happen... I left the room around 10am, Holly wasn't keen so I went on my own. It was around 40 minute walk to the bottom from the hostel so I got to see the other side of the city, going away from the harbour. The climb itself wasn't too bad apart from how humid it was, but from the top the views were great. I had to eventually head back down because I could see the rain coming.
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| Rangitoto in background |
Tiritiri Matangi is a 220 hectare island 30km north-east of central Auckland. It is now a wildlife sanctuary, home to many rare native animals. Although we hadn't heard of many of these animals we had also been told it was just a beautiful island to go and well worth a visit, so we did! It's a short hop from where we were staying at Gulf harbour to island via ferry, which involved a bio-security check to make sure we didn't bring any weed seeds or rodents with us. After a brief talk about the island and what we shouldn't do, we were set free to explore the island as we please. The beach around 10 minutes from the landing was amazing, with views right across the bay back to the most recent volcano in the Auckland area, Rangitoto. Though the ferry was packed on the way to the island, it didn't take long to loose everybody and it was incredibly peaceful and relaxing. I spent an hour clambering along
the shore before I had to turn around because of an angry oystercatcher who's nest was somewhere close so decided to keep dive-bombing me. We spent the rest of the day wandering the island before returning to the beach a last time before departing.
The Whangaparaoa peninsula, where we had been staying the last few days was an amazing place to live, but as we were finding out, had a limit to the activities that could be done; so we decided to venture into the city for a few days. We caught the ferry on Monday morning with the intention of returning on Friday. So we moved into our hostel, which was the YMCA hostel around 5 minutes walk from the Sky Tower - basically the center of the city.
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| Our hostel room |
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The next few days we spent either by the coast or in an electronics store buying me a laptop. Turns out they are a lot cheaper in America than England. Toby, who had been the only consistent person in our room of 6 beds all week, left on Monday morning for a 9 hour bus ride to Los Angeles before catching a flight back to his home country of New Zealand. This had been quite convenient for us because we received some helpful advice for when we eventually arrived at our final destination. He was almost certainly the most relaxed person I had ever met, so here's hoping the rest of the Kiwi's follow suit! We've had a number of other people come and go in the room while we've been there. Some of the more notable ones include 'the crazy angry old lady' who came into the room at 4 in the morning and clambered very noisily into bed and yet moaned when we tried to get ready to leave at 10am. There was also a French guy, who was living in Mexico, but had to leave the country for a day while his lawyer tried to sort him out a work visa since he had been working illegally for over a year. Suited me though since he bought me a beer and we had a conversation about how tough life was in Mexico City.
Our last day in San Francisco didn't make us particularly sad about leaving, it was pouring with rain and just generally miserable; it didn't make for a good walk down to the train station with our big bags on. Our bags that had somehow gained 2kgs in weight in just a week, slightly worrying! We saw a spectacular sunrise on the plane in-between Monty Python movies.
We were picked up very kindly at the airport by Chris (related to Holly) at some ungodly hour (6am), and taken back to their house around 45 minutes north of Auckland. The house had a great setting with a harbour as good as in their back garden! We spent the rest of that day getting sorted and wandering around absolutely shattered but determined not to go to bed until a reasonable time to combat the jet lag.
This persistence paid off as the next day we felt fine and good to go. Chris's son and daughter Connor and Greer showed us around the area via really cheap buses so we got a feel for where we were.
Orewa ended up being our final destination and was our favorite; we returned the next day on our own. There was a really nice beach and a few decent restaurants overlooking it. The weather is still warm, could do with just getting rid of some of the wind.
The second day saw us return to pier 39, where we went around the aquarium and booked a tour of the San Francisco coastline by boat. The aquarium - much like any aquarium- was full of a diverse range of underwater life, and were even pools to reach in and touch baby sharks and rays. The real treat came later on. The tour round the picturesque bay was brilliant, sailing first under the Golden Gate Bridge then round the Island that holds the ex-prison of Alcatraz. I even saw a dolphin!
The following day we had a night tour of Alcatraz. If you are going to go around the former prison, I would certainly recommend it in the dark, the views back towards San Francisco were spectacular and the night adds to the atmosphere of the place. Must've been torture for the prisoners of 'The Rock' to be so close to the city.
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| The vintage Arcade |
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We spent a lot of time around the Fisherman's Wharf area during the week, It's an area where it is so easy to loose a day wandering around. One of the highlights of the area was a vintage arcade called Musee Mechanique which we just stumbled upon whilst wandering. We were confronted with a plethora of vintage arcade machines. From mechanically operated model farms and saw mills to original Pacman machines, you could spend hours - and lots of money - in this place.
San Francisco continues to surprise.
San Francisco, a beautifully odd city. I really do think there is something for everyone here. Surrounded by stunning scenery and coastline, San Francisco is vibrant and very creative city. Our hostel (Downtown hostel) seems to be in a perfect area, one minute walk from Union Square. Only real downside is the view of the car park, but not to worry, hopefully we won't be there for much more than sleeping!
Our first full day here saw us catching the 'street car' (basically a tram), up to Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 on some advice Holly had received before she embarked on this trip to the other side of the world with me; she must be mad. Pier 39 is a strange and unpredictable place, but amazing nonetheless. Interspersed between all the usual tourist souvenir shops, were some of the most random set of shops you could ever hope to
imagine, everything from The San Francisco Sock Market, to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co (for all you Forest Gump fans), and of course there was a Hard Rock cafe.
There is a really great, relaxed atmosphere along the coast, with buskers everywhere you looked playing steel drums or performing magic. We also encountered a good few insane people (joggers) who looked thoroughly miserable as to be expected. San Francisco really doesn't
conform to the fat American stereotype; you would be hard pressed to find an obese person when exploring this city. This may be due to the mild climate here, with warm
winters and cooler summers, it's easy for the residents to stay active all year round. It certainly can't be due to the portion sizes of food, because they do conform to the American stereotype.
The other notable attraction on pier 39 is the Sea Lions.
After arriving in 1989, they have grown to a massive population of over 1500. They bask in the sun all day and watch the boat tours come in and out.
Overall the Fisherman's Wharf area is a great place so I'm sure we shall be returning!
