On Thursday I met up with Jay and Nikki who I had met at the airport the previous day and Simon, my roommate. We had an explore down Queen's Street, the central road in Auckland which finishes at the ferry terminal. Almost on the spur of the moment, we decided to take a 15 minute ride to Devonport, a suburb to the North of central Auckland.
The sun came out just as we got there and the view from the ferry port alone was stunning. You could see a stretch of beach, the unusually (for me!) clear water and the whole length of the CBD.
The difference between the downtown area of Auckland and Devonport was almost surreal; it was like you'd stepped into Florida, but with a Kiwi twist. Palm trees line the roads, there's no sign of large national stores and the traffic is much reduced. There doesn't seem to be much of a planning standard either; all of the plantation style houses are completely different, but equally charming and well kept.
We ventured up to Mount Victoria, one of Auckland's 50 volcanoes, and when we go to the summit the view was even more spectacular. We could see a complete panorama of Auckland and it's suburbs, plus the islands to the east.
It was nice to get out of the city centre where our hostels are and to somewhere that really warrants you being in New Zealand. If you don't go out every day and do something like this, you're bound to get homesick because it won't feel like there's a reason for you to be here.
P.S. My mobile phone number in NZ is +64 (0)21 0225 4964. So if you dial from outside of NZ, go for 00642102254964.
