mark his words: Auckland... and it begins

Ahh, backpacking. If there were any need for me to be reminded that the next few months won't all be smooth sailing, the last 24 or so hours has been that jolt to the system. A few minor ups and downs, but all part of the experience.

The flight over went swimmingly. Despite a slightly delayed appearance by yours truly (thank you Great Eastern Highway roadworks), we were on our way with no concerns. A middle aged lady, as Australian as they come, had slight concerns at being seated next to a young mother and her crying child, as I happened to capture an under the breath remark that started with “Oh...” and ended with an expletive or two. Either that, or she was unhappy at the movie selection available on board.

Our seats, however, couldn't have been much better. Not having flown anything other than budget domestic in years, the minor comforts of an international flight were a pleasant surprise. The (comparatively) ample leg space was made all the more better by having a young kid seated behind me enabling me to become one of 'those' people who insist on moving their seat too far back, and no-one in front of me, allowing me to stretch me legs out without fear of that awkward foot contact.

The five or so hour flight was probably the most comfortable flight I'd been on, and was made even better by my cheeky request for an additional meal should they have any left over being fulfilled. Very good, Air New Zealand, very good.

The 6am shuttle bus provided us an opportunity to get to know James, an African American hip hop dancer from St Louis, Missouri, who was interested in “Where's y'all going?”. He gave his version of an Auckland 101 run-down, which included good cheap shoes (he was impressed to find out Mike and myself had spent less than $15 on our shoes) and nefarious business decisions. As he flashed us his new phone explained to us how his plan to leave the country after signing up to a phone contract and getting a new phone was fool-proof and something we'd better get on to.

We arrived at our destination, parted ways with our new friend, and endured the torturous 'try to stay awake' and/or 'get horrible sleep in noisy locations' struggle brought upon by arriving at our hostel about six and a half hours prior to check in time. Somehow, we managed to scrounge together a minor sleep, before eventually getting into our rooms.

Once we awoke from our slumber, we had a brief walk around the CBD, including a moderately enjoyable burger from a place called Velvet Burger, and tried in vain to see if any of the sports bars in the city were broadcasting anything other than the All Blacks game. Needless to say, we had no luck.

The next morning we decided to take on Mt Eden, a dormant volcano that overlooks the city. After deciding to opt against taking the $40 explorer bus suggested to us, we managed to get to the same location using public transport for a 1 zone $1.90 ticket. Apparently the World Rally Championships were on town, and our driver must have taken inspiration as he raced up, down and through the windy turns of Mt Eden Road.

After giving our calves a decent workout on the slightly slippery and muddy track up to the summit, we were given an all-encompassing view of Auckland, albeit tarnished by cloudy overcast conditions.