Auckland

My jetlag quickly faded today as I walked to the summit of Rangitato (or Rrrrrrrrangitato as our ferry driver pronounced it), about a 10km walk. You could only access the island (essentially a volcano that grew from the sea) by boat. I did the walk with Sergio, a young man I met from England at the hostel. It's incredible how often one runs into people from the hostel while wandering around the city. The hike was quite nice, although the sun is merciless here. It isn't hot at all, but the UV index today was 13 (out of 10). Below are pictures from the island, which had nice views of Auckland. It's incredible how foreign it all looks to me (it was a bit like Jurassic Park). The water and air is incredibly clear. Along the walk (while searching for a bathroom that turned out to be closed) we met someone who had a little house (without utilities) and she kindly let us use her outhouse. Afterwards, she invited us in and showed us around. Some way to treat people who just walked into your backyard!

Arrival yesterday was admittedly a bit scary, especially considering that I know absolutely no one in the country. It was a bit difficult to get through customs because they had to go through all of my camping gear and run tests for biohazards. As an island, the country is very vulnerable to invasive species, so I suppose it's worth the hassle.

I took a shuttle to the hostel and felt rather alone at first, but quickly met people. There are so many people doing exactly what I'm doing, and it's very interesting to hear other travel stories. This particular hostel seems to have mostly German and British tourists, and I'm a bit of a novelty as an American. I am consistently amazed by how much American culture has penetrated the rest of the world. Some of the people I have met know American sports teams and movies better than I do. Many of them watched the presidential election closely. So in a way, despite being one of the only Americans around, I feel like I already have a lot in common with the people I have met. Last night, I went out for drinks in the city with Sergio who has travelled extensively throughout Asia and Australia, and it was very refreshing to have a fresh perspective on ideas. Curiously, we both had the same beer (a local New Zealand one) and found out that both of us felt a bit ill in the middle of the night.

Tomorrow is my last day in Auckland before I start the guided bus tour of the North Island. I'm planning on walking around city center, going to the museums, and tasting some of the food. The weather has been so nice so far (highs around 75 degrees and lows around 55), although rain is in the forecast for the weekend. Tonight I plan to sleep outside the hostel. I didn't realize that was an option at first, but the owner is permitting me to do it and is even going to refund some of my money. Truthfully, sleeping in a room with 7 other people was much better than I expected (everyone is quite respectful), but I think I'll still prefer to sleep outside and not wake up staring in the face of a stranger.

-Brian

PS. A picture from the airplane is above (in case you couldn't tell from the wing in the picture).