After a long morning of leaving te Nananu village and spending a few days at a hostel in Nadi, we finally made our (long way of connecting flights from Nadi to Sydney back up to Auckland), where we would spend three days running around Auckland and indluging in the city. It was a great change of pace for many of us, from the use of internet to the choice of food for our meals to the nonstop liveliness of living in a city.
We also had to adjust to the colder climate of New Zealand as we were mildly plagued with rainy, overcast weather that promopet many of us to invest in some warmer gear…from Auckland on the weather was going to get much colder especially with the days following Auckland in Taranaki, land of mountains and outdoor adventure.
Being in a city was nice and overwhelming. Many of us had to tend to a variety of things such as shopping for more clothe, using the internet cafe down the street from our Backpackers Hostel (93 Anzac Ave), buying items we ran out of while in the village and taking a moment to rest.
As ridiculous as it sounds it was pretty awesome to be able to sit in a chair for once considering it was customary for us to sit on the floor. Almost all of us also had a hard time transitioning from saying “bula” to “hello,” or “vinaka” simply to “thank you.”
The majority of days spent in Auckland were resting at the hostel, using internet, making meals, and shopping. Day trips included a group of us catching the ferry off the nearby wharf to the Ringatoto Island early in the morning to trek along the island, see the lava caves and hike to the summit. The trek was beautiful as well as the view of the shores of Auckland from afar. The island was lush with foliage growing through the volcanic rock and soil.
Other nights in Auckland consisted of a mini group movie night of Anchorman and hitting up the late night clubbing scene off of the marina. The days passed before we knew it.
Next destination: Taranaki Outdoor Adventure Center (aka a short 7 hour trip through some of the most spectacular mountains, hills, valleys, farmland and coastline; New Zealand was proving how much of a real gem it is). We were beginning to adjust to Kiwi life.