Friday, August 1st 2003 – Day 164 – Irish Guy’s Round the World Trips

Friday, August 1st 2003 – Day 164

Auckland, known as the City of Sails, is as big, as cosmopolitan, as hedonistic, as subtropical, and as congested as any New Zealand city gets. If you’re starting here, you’re starting at the top.

Along with its much-touted 48 dead volcanoes, Auckland is home to over 1.3 million people. It has the largest Polynesian population in the world; more boats per capita than any other city; 22 regional parks covering 37,038 hectares (91,521 acres); 50 islands; and more than 500km (310 miles) of walking and hiking tracks. It now has the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere, which attracts the most lightning, and if a daily shower is no longer enough, Auckland, surrounded on all sides by water, offers more ways of getting wet than just about anywhere.

This is our baby Sydney, and most of us are proud of it. It’s a luscious, leafy city, and there’s a contagious energy about this sprawling, show-off place. The injection of billions of dollars into the 1999-2000 America’s Cup preparations and other international events has polished up Auckland’s public face to gleaming; and with the return of the America’s Cup Challenge in 2003, the action continues.

Europeans arrived in Auckland in 1839, and the thriving area served as the nation’s first capital until 1864, when the seat of government was transferred to Wellington because of its central location. Auckland, though, is still a capital place to visit. It isn’t typical of New Zealand any more than New York and Los Angeles are typical of the United States, or Sydney is typical of Australia, but it does have a huge amount to offer.

Well, I arrived at Auckland Airport at 5.25am (One hour late). I was groggy as I had little sleep on the flight itself. It took about 20 minutes to get through Immigration as many flights come in at this time. It was still dark but I decided to head into town. The airbus runs from 6.00am every ten minutes. The price is 13 AUS (6.50 EURO) but if you use the token from the – Arrivals – Magazine given to you at immigration, it will save you 2 AUS. Anyway it takes about 30 minutes (21km – 13 miles) to get into town. Dawn was breaking and Auckland looked good. The bus had a video going of different attractions in the city as well as leaflets. The driver will also let you off close to your accommodation if you tell him where you are staying.

I had chosen Auckland Central backpackers. It has 600 beds, the biggest in NZ and is brand new. It moved to Queen street (the main street) last year.

The centrally located Backpackers gets rave reviews for its quality, amenities, and service. It has a prime location right in the heart of Queen Street and is just steps off the waterfront. Reception is open 24 hours, offering wake-up calls, airport transfers, and onward accommodations reservations. There are post, phone, fax, and Internet facilities, plus foreign exchange and phone-card sales. For peace of mind, you also get video-monitored security, storage of items big and small, and individual minisafes. And if you need more convincing, the Rooftop Garden Bar is said to be the most happening meeting place in town.

Facilities:

2 cafes, rooftop bar; travel center; game room; airport transfers; coin-op washers and dryers; reading/writing room; Internet access; Job Search center; cinema; TV lounge; on-call doctor/dentist

It also has a good reputation for facilities and craic. As I had been staying in single rooms for a few weeks, It would be nice to mingle with some backpackers. I got there at 7.00am but found that no beds were available. It was full. I was told to deposit my bags and come back at 11.00am when people were checking out. I did just that and went on he net for an hour as nothing was open.

I went out at 9.00am and walked to the Qauntas Office to change my flight out of New Zealand. I have decided to stay for a full month and fly onto Australia on the 30th of August. I was lucky and they did not change me for 2 date changes. If I do change again her, they will charge 15 AUS. I then waked to the skytower, only 2 blocks away and the biggest structure in the region. It was impressive. I then took the free tourist bus that travels around the city centre in a loop. It comes every 10 minutes to certain stops and you can hop on and off. The driver was nice and it was nice to hear all the (English) banter from the bus radio. I was also surprised to see so many Asians in Auckland. I was later to learn that Europeans (desented) make up only 62 per cent of the population. Many are Chinese and Japanese English learning students. English language students are the countries 4th largest industry and the city takes in 52,000 students every year. Anyway the free bus takes you down the main street called Queen Street and up by the University and the harbor. It a quick way to get your bearnings of the city.

I then went to a great 24 hour diner across from he Skytower. I had bacon, eggs, toast, chips, coffee for 6.50 AUS (3.30 EURO) At last, a nice fry up after 5 months. There were some characters in there including a guy with an imitation fire arm who was giving out about the Asians. He was only joking about though and offered me some advice and hints about the city.

I went back to the hostel and booked into a 8 person dorm for 21 AUS (10.70 EURO) and a 20 AUS deposit for the key.

I then tried to figure out how to get to the Auckland Museum. It wasn’t easy and I thought I would be able to get close with the free bus but no, it would be a 30 minute walk. I decided to get the Link bus. The link buses also put a loop, but it is an outer loop. They take in the outer attractions like Parnell, K’ road, the Museum, Auckland bridge etc. It costs 1.20 AUS and it goes every 15 minutes. It was an easy ride to parnell Street, which is an exclusive road in the city. I did not think much of the area but it was an easy 10 minute walk from here to the museum.

The Link bus service runs both ways in a circuit around the attractions of the inner-city rim. These distinctive white buses charge a NZ$1 (40?¢) fare. The whole circuit takes an hour and includes QEII Square, the Railway Station, Parnell, Newmarket, Karangahape Road, Ponsonby, Sky City, Queen Street, the University, Domain, Museum, and more. It operates every 10 minutes from 6am to 6pm Monday through Friday; every 20 minutes weeknights and weekends. For more information, call Rideline (tel. 09/366-6400).

You are asked for a 5 AUS donation to see the museum. I wanted to find out more about Maori culture and the history of the Island. I also wanted to visit and expereince the Maori Experience which has three daily shows at the museum. Combined it cost 10 AUS.

Auckland’s imposing museum building stands in the Auckland Domain on the rim of an ancient volcano surrounded by parks and gardens. It has the largest collection of Maori and Polynesian artifacts in the world, and for this reason alone is worth a visit.

Major refurbishment of the museum is now complete, and the extensive Maori Treasures Gallery is a must-see. Key attractions in this area are the impressive 82-foot war canoe chiseled from one enormous totara trunk and covered with intricate carvings. That same artistry is reflected in the 85-foot meetinghouse, with its carved and painted walls and rafters. Also on display are magnificent greenstone weapons, tools, and feather cloaks. Three times a day–at 11am, noon, and 1:30pm–Maori concerts by the Manaia Maori Performance Group bring this culture to life.

Pacific Pathways is a moody area housing a world-renowned collection of Pacific artifacts; New Zealand at War–Scars on the Heart tells an emotional story of New Zealand in conflict, from the Land Wars of the 1840s to its present-day peacekeeping operations. The first-floor Natural History Galleries showcase everything from dinosaur skeletons to live seaside rock pools. It’s a fascinating area well supported by the superb Discovery Centre. My favorite gallery is the thought-provoking Wild Child, which displays the experiences that shaped a colonial childhood.

This first-rate museum experience gives a marvelous introduction to New Zealand history and culture. To get the most from it, allow 2 to 3 hours minimum. An on-site cafe is open during museum hours.

I spent about 3 hours at the museum. It is massive and I was tired by the time I left. The best part was the 1:30pm – Maori concert by the Manaia Maori Performance Group. They wnt through Maori hisitory, dance including the hacka.

I walked back to Parnell road and caught a Link bus back. I was tired. I just wanted to walk the streets for a while and get some rest.

I have never got so many leaflets, brochures and magazines for so mnay attractions. It seems every single attraction has a leaflet. It thought Ireland was clued into and dependeed ont he tourist industry but it is nothing like here. Its full on and in your face. It was really a case of information overload. I did not where I would go next after Auckalnd. Each leaflet and mazagine was screaming a different place.

There are chats from different companies in the hostel at 6.00pm each evening. For eaxmple, kiwiexpereince. magic bus etc. There is lots to doa t the hostel itself. They have a a games room, a 40 temrinal internart sation, a job search centre, a travel agency and a bar which was important for my visit. It was called the Globe. I did not do much for the rest of the day. Started reading my NZ Lonely Planet for the first time. I knew NOTHING baout the country. You can only focus on one country at the time. yesterday, it was Chile, today it is New Zealand.

It has been so long since I had a good night on the beer and I went doewn to the hostel bar around 9.00pm. I had a few drinks but I was too tired to keep doing. I decided to pospone my Big night out until tomorrow.

I was in a clean 8 person dorm. The price for a non student without a VIP hostel discount card was 21 AUS per night. There was also a 20 AUS deposit for the room key. I had a good nights sleep and thank god no snoring from my dorm mates. The dorm also had eletrical outlets for my recharger. The place was spotless.