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| Rolling hills with the beach in view - most of the coastal highways look like this! |
| Erin's Journal 01-22-03 New Zealand Today we would return to Auckland for our last full day in New Zealand. We checked out right at 10pm, after carefully discarding most of the food that couldn't be saved or given away. Luckily, there wasn't much to be wasted. We stopped at the information center on the way out of Whangarei to use the pay phone to book a room, as we remembered how busy it had been when we arrived in town. We went with the recommendation in our Let's Go guidebook, which has been very unpredictable in terms of meeting our expectations. The first couple of places we tryed to book were full, so we ended up in the Brown Kiwi, in the suburb of Ponsonby. We realized once we were back in the car en route to Auckland that our road guide didn't even cover the area of Ponsonby, so we'd have to stop and call again for directions if we didn't stumble across it right off the freeway! The ride back was very pleasant, as we took the scenic route and ended up stopping at a couple of different beaches to enjoy the views and the sounds of the surf. The sun was making periodic visits, but there were plenty of people in the water boogy-boarding and swimming. It's the last week of school holidays here, so everyone is desperately enjoying the final bits of their holidays. We stopped for lunch again in the same small town we'd stopped at on the way up, and I wished we'd spent a day there too. But there is only so much you can do and see in 3 weeks! We arrived back in Auckland to great views of the city across the bridge, and drove up into the suburb of Ponsonby, hoping to find the street our hostel was on, or at least find a sign pointing to it. Nope. We had to stop and call, and got directions. When we arrived, we were very disappointed with it. It's a very old house, shabby and smelling of urine, and we wanted to view the rooms before agreeing to stay the night. The grumpy guy at the desk told us he might have to charge us anyway, as he had been turning people away as fully booked for a couple of hours already. We viewed a room, then snuck off to call the Fat Camel where we'd stayed before. At least we knew that was bearable, and in walking distance to all the shopping & waterfront! But it was full, so we agreed one night here wouldn't kill us. Next time we buy a guide book, it'll be Lonely Planet though. Those Harvard folks at Let's Go don't have our standards!!! We dropped our bags off, securely locked them together in our room (looked kinda loose about security there), and drove into downtown. It wasn't that far, but the drivers were INSANE and parking, impossible. By the time we agreed on a parking lot and left the car, I was tense & tired! But the walking around helped, and our first priority was the necklace we'd been debating buying since we first saw it upon arriving 3 weeks ago. We found it in an antique jeweler's store, and it is a truly fabulous piece, with 43 carats of beautiful aquamarines and matching earrings. It would be exceptional for the wedding day, but it is so expensive...anyway, we went back and looked at the independent assessment sheet the dealer had on the piece, looked at it again, and debated. In the end, we decided not to get it, but took all the pertinent details in case we changed our mind and wanted to order it later. Yeah right. Having passed on that, we still wanted to get something special to remind us of New Zealand. We hadn't bought much of anything, and had the idea to get a guest book for our wedding made of the gorgeous native wood, with some of the paua shell design work we'd seen in a few shops along the way. We found a place finally that had a combination guest book/photo album and matching frame in the wood, with matching shell designs in the shape of two rings. Perfect! That chore accomplished, we enjoyed a Starbucks frappuccino before heading up the street to check on movie start times. We stopped in several stores along the way in case we were inspired by any other remembrances of New Zealand, but found them all trite and overpriced. Oh well. When we arrived at the theater, we compromised on Two Weeks Notice, and had time for a quick dinner before it started. I enjoyed the movie a lot, and Glenn thought it was ok, though he now believes he is exempt from further 'chick-flick viewing' for the year. As if a married man can establish a quota on such things!! He gleefully explained that this is a chore to be taken on by my mom when we get home, and my girlfriends! Hence the whole Chick Flick definition - movies to be viewed exclusively by females in the company of other females! (or, god forbid, alone!) After the movie, we did more email catching up until Glenn could stand no more (I am much more addicted to corresponding than he is), so we made our way back to the car and managed to find the hostel in the dark. Tomorrow we return to Australia, and I am glad. |
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| Glenn could take on a new career here, if he wanted to move to Napier and sneakily take over this business! |