I ended up spending longer than I had planned in Auckland, a total of 3 days and 4 nights. There just seemed to be so much to do with buying odds and ends that from various shops in different parts of the city, updating the blog etc. The weather had improved and the sun was out – summer looked as if it was arriving.
It felt great to recharge my energy levels and input some serious calories. I felt as if I was hollow and just couldn't stop eating.
There was a good crowd staying in the City Garden Hostel including A Swiss couple who had cycled to NZ from Europe, a Colombian and a Polish girl who where where studying a type of NZ snail for their Phd's, a German mechanical engineer who repaired my walking poles and a Belgium guy with his inflatable raft.
No one seemed to keen to accompany Tom (the Belgium) on a sunset trip around Auckland Harbour in his inflatable raft amongst the tankers and ferries. I guess if you are crazy enough to attempt to walk the length of NZ.... It was hilarious if perhaps a little precarious! I ended up rather wet, a not unfamiliar feeling since I have been on the TA trail.
Returning to the hostel with a fully inflated raft we stopped at the supermarket where the security guard kindly took a picture of us sitting in the raft in his store. About 9pm when walking up the main road in Parnell (a fairly upmarket area of Auckland) with an inflated raft on my head a guy called out “Hey boat people” and came charging up the road. I thought drunk nutter about to attack but he he just couldn’t believe what he was seeing and wanted to know what we were doing. He thought is was hysterical and we almost managed to persuade him to fix the raft on the roof of his Porche and drive it up the road!!
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