Auckland - First Impressions

I arrived in Auckland on the 24th of July at noon, almost two days after I had left Germany. The check-out was tedious and long and I got a little nervous with my closed package of wine gums and my pretty-much-clean hiking boots in my suitcase. I went through without a problem though and soon enough I stood on New Zealand soil. After buying a Vodafone Travel SIM card I was greeted by two dwarf statues from the Hobbit. Amazing!

Taking the Skybus I arrived at the cheapest hostel in town, the Nomads Fat Camel Backpackers, at 3pm. To be honest, it was a little shock for me. This is the first time I'm travelling on my own and I've never stayed in a mixed dorm room. I had to get used to it... but the people were all very friendly and right on that first evening I went to town with an Italian guy. We had a look around the city and harbor and ended up in a bar, participating in a Pool competition. However, I was quite a bit jet-lagged so we returned to the hostel at 11pm and I went straight to bed. Already I felt much more at home here than I had in Asia.

I started the next day at 10am and went to take the ferry to Rangitoto, a volcanic island. On the boat I met Lucie from England and we decided to go hiking together. Together we explored the Lava caves a little off the track and then continued to the summit. By that time it was raining though and we had to hurry up anyway to get the last ferry back at 3.30pm. isn't that early?!

On the way back I got off at Devonport and had an amazing lunch at Dixie Browns. I started walking up to Mt. Victoria (why does every hill have that name???) at 5pm without knowing that the sun would set only half an hour after. Nevertheless I enjoyed the nice view before going on to North Head to walk in the military tunnels. In the meantime it was completely dark though and I must say it was a little scary all alone in those war memorials.
When I got back to the hostel at 8pm I joined in yet another Pool tournament and got friends with an English guy named Terry. Afterwards we went to another bar and just walked and talked till 2am. That's the kind of nightlife I enjoy!

On Wednesday I got to pick up my car from Omega Rentals. Their service was really good but I was still a little nervous about driving an automatic and on the left side. I still wonder why I didn't crash, the first days were horrible...
After I picked Terry up from the library we drove to Port Waikato where we could see Weathertop Hollow, the first Lord of the Rings location, in the distance. However, the hill itself is on private land so getting closer wasn't possible unfortunately. It was a beautiful landscape though and very nice to have such a good company!