Touching down in Auckland, we got our first distant glimpses of NZ scenery – an appetite whetter!
Weather on arrival was warm and a bit sticky, but still pleasant compared to Sydney's 30+ degrees and excessive humidity at this time of year. We jumped in a shuttle bus to take us into the city, figuring that we might as well save a few cents. Good enough service but took ages as we weaved around the outer suburbs of Auckland, dropping various people off at their destinations. A couple with a baby had decided to use the bus although I'm not sure why, as they spent the whole time complaining about the driver's driving, worrying about whether the baby was safe on their laps (!) and generally whinging. Given that they appeared to live in one of Auckland's wealthiest areas, not sure why they didn't just get a cab!
Anyway, the upside was that we got a good look at Auckland before arriving at our serviced apartment just off Queen St in the city centre. We'd booked last minute and got a 2 bedroom place for about $120, bit of a bargain.
Headed out for a wander as it was about 5pm by now and soon found ourselves ensconced in a great tapas bar called Mezze, where we sampled the local beers (Monteiths Original for me, a very tasty pale ale, and Monteiths Pilsner for K, which he reported as being very good), and had some excellent tapas – prawns in garlic, spanish meatballs, slow roasted tomatoes on grilled bread and spanish omelette, all extremely good.
For some reason (possibly the 3 beers and our 6am start) we were both pretty tired, so we headed back to the apartment where K finished off some work emails – tsk, we're meant to be on holiday! - and then did some ironing – his favourite hobby, I sometimes think! I slothed on the couch and sampled NZ telly, which manages to do what I thought was impossible and be even worse than Australia's!
About 9pm, just as we were about to go out for a walk and a drink, I noticed that water was pouring through the ceiling of our bathroom from what looked like an overflowing bath upstairs – eek! The management sorted it all out very quickly though and soon had us transferred to an even bigger room, this time with two bathrooms.
I can report that Auckland on a Wed night doesn't hold too much in the way of excitement other than teenagers vomiting on the pavement, but we enjoyed a quick drink at My Bar, sampling some more local beers – this time, an Epic pale ale for me and a Tuahara pilsner for K.
And so to bed...
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