We got up early to go to Waitangi Treaty Grounds and the Bay of Islands.It took us longer to drive there than we had expected but at least we reached the grounds before closing time.We took the guided tour which was interesting.I had no previous knowledge of the Maori people and thought they were closely linked to the Aboriginals of Australia, but that was not the case at all.They are Polynesians just like the Hawaiians which I was familiar with.

That night we stayed in Paihia so we could explore the Bay of Islands the next day.We went on a sailing cruise with Explorenz which was very relaxing.I’d never been sailing before so it was a wonderful tranquil experience since the boat moved so fast through the water without the blaring of engines.We stopped at a gorgeous Island to hike/swim/snorkel/kayak.I only wish we had more time at the Island since we didn’t have time to do everything we wanted.

Bay of Islands

Then we had to drive back to Auckland because we had a very busy schedule to get through.We went to Lissa’s office where we had a lovely view of the city by night and she pointed out “The White House” to me on the way back to her apartment.Apparently it is a strip joint.

White House

This morning was rough, since the remnants of the wine were not making me or anyone else feel well.We planned on going to Rangitoto so even though I was not looking forward to a hike, we went.We had to take a Ferry to the island and I was curious to see the wharf considering how lovely Sydney’s Ferry wharf was, but I was very disappointed.Plainly, it was a dirty harbour not worth a mention.It was just a place like a bus stop to get on a boat, and fast because there weren’t even any benches to sit on.Auckland was soon becoming an ugly city.

Rangitoto was an inactive volcano from which there were really nice views of Auckland.The climb up would actually not be so bad, but I was feeling miserable so it was close to torture.At the top the crater was less than spectacular and when going through our photos later I was like, “what is that?” because I couldn’t imagine why on earth we had taken a picture of something so dull, and that was the crater.But luckily the highlight was not the crater but the view which was lovely.Auckland can be ugly but New Zealand is all about the nature.The clear blue water and gracefully curved carved islands around the city are gorgeous, and from the distance even Auckland looked pretty.

Going down was much easier than going up and back at shore we had sushi for lunch and then had to prepare for the Belgian party.Everyone was from Belgium and Lissa planned a Belgian party for her friends who had just flown across the globe to get away from Belgium complete with beer and waffles.Hendrik and I were really excited since we have had pretty shit beer in Australia the past year.It was fun and in two days we had already had a wine night and a beer night, so a hard alcohol night was surly in order.

Hendrik and I went on vacation to New Zealand or Aotearoa (land of the long white cloud) in Māori.  We took the bus from the airport to centre city, and the first thing that stuck out in the outskirts of town were cows on a hill. It was a pretty steep hill and it was a curiosity that the cows didn’t just fall off, but they looked as agile as mountain goats grazing on the steep hill. Once we entered the city I hardly knew we were near centre since it seemed like suburbs all the way to Queen St. then when we were on Queen St I saw a Wendy’s, which I pointed out to Hendrik since they don’t have Wendy’s in Australia or Europe so it was odd that it was here. Auckland was the only place I saw a Wendy’s and there was only one. Right next to it was an Oporto, a few steps down was a McDonalds, and then a Burger King, all on one block a few paces away. In all I counted about 5 Burger Kings (which were called Burger King and not Hungry Jack, like in AU) on Queen St alone not to mention all the other burger places and Queen St. really isn’t that long. In conclusion I figured that the Kiwis must really love their burgers and needed the grazing cows to fulfil this need.

We stayed at Hendrik’s friend’s apartment who lived smack in the centre city, and she complained that the nearest grocery store was quite far, but at least she was always only 5 steps away from a burger so she never had to fear starvation. She told us to get off the bus at the giant Santa Clause, that we couldn’t miss him. We were sceptical, but really you can’t miss him. He was huge and creepy. Not only did he look like someone you wouldn’t let your children near he also has one automated finger which moved in a beckoning fashion. Whoever thought that was a good idea for Santa had some issues, but Lissa, our friend assured us he’s there every year.

Then I met Hendrik’s other friends Beata and Simon who would also be travelling with us and we had a wine night. Definitely a bit too much. What we did see of Auckland we came to a one word conclusion, underwhelming. It was way smaller than I thought it would be and nothing that would stand out and be the landmark for the city except for the Santa and possibly burgers. Then of course there is the sky tower which is the most prominent building of the city, but we decided not to go to the top to save money. I didn’t mind because it seemed that the tower was the only building worth looking at anyway. Lissa decided to take us to her office building where she claimed to have great views but as we stood by the door she had forgotten to take her keys, so we had to postpone and wait in anticipation to gaze at the Auckland Skyline.

Wine night in a red bar.