Back to Auckland (again)

On the 8th, Rebekka said goodbye to everyone at the lab, then Claudius drove us back to Auckland. We checked into ACB backpackers, went to a resturant on Prince's Wharf for dinner and then went to see The Constant Gardener at the cinema, which was excellent.

On the Friday, Rebekka was flying home to Germany, so we checked out of ACB and spent the late morning and early afternoon relaxing in Auckland. With everything packed and ready to go, we got on the AirBus to the airport, but it took much longer than we expected to get there, as the rush-hour traffic came into full effect. We got to the airport with only an hour to go until the plane took off, so we rushed through check in and sprinted to the security gate where I said goodbye to Rebekka. When I go there in a few weeks, I'll be allowing a lot more time than we did, that's for sure!

The bay at Leigh

The bay at Leigh
Originally uploaded by Toytown Mafia.

This is the view from the road leading to the lab at Leigh.

Leigh

On the 25th, we packed our stuff and checked out of the hostel, then met up with Helene to go to Victoria Market. After lunch, we spent the afternoon relaxing in the park and going around the huge Borders bookshop. We said goodbye to Helene at 5, then went to meet Camillo, the guy who Rebekka works for at Leigh Marine Lab. We had dinner at the food court in the Metro building, then he drove Rebekka and I to the lab at Leigh.

Leigh is about an hour's drive north of Auckland and the lab is just outside the village in a marine reserve opposite Goat Island. Because it's a protected environment, there's a huge population of wildlife in its sheltered bay, so it's very popular with tourists.

We spent 12 days at the lab, the first three living in a bunk room on site, and the rest staying at the house of the lab's handyman, Tom. Most days we'd go the lab in the morning and then spend the day at the beach or sitting somewhere to read. Rebekka had to work as well, but only for a few hours a day.

It was nice to relax and not do a lot for such a long period of time. We went to a couple of markets, out sampling a beach, went for a swim and to a Christmas Carol concert, but apart from that we just spent the time enjoying the usually warm weather and good scenery.

Minus 5 Bar

Minus 5 Bar
Originally uploaded by Toytown Mafia.

Pascal, Gesche, me and Rebekka at Minus 5.

Auckland

On Thursday (24th), Rebekka and I went down to the ferry building in Auckland to meet up with the Flying Kiwi bus again and those who were getting off it. In the previous three days, the bus had been up to the Bay of Islands, north of the city. We met up with Helene, Pascal and Gesche who were finishing their tour, Marta and Anna who got off in Queenstown, and Matteo who left us at Picton. After lunch, Gesche, Rebekka, Pascal and I went to the Minus 5 Bar, where everything from the glasses to the chairs is made from ice. I'd been there before, but it was still pretty cool (excuse the pun). After saying goodbye to Gesche and Pascal, Helene, Rebekka and I went for dinner with Jennifer at La Porchetta. We then saw the latest Harry Potter film at the Metro Centre, which wasn't bad, although it can hardly stand up as a film without the audience having previously read the book.