Going To New Zealand part two

Hmm.

After getting our car from the airport depot, We decided to find a suitable hotel before exploring the city. this was about 10am Auckland time, so it was pretty cool and sunny: a perfect day.

We managed to get into Auckland city, passing by residential areas and seeing plenty of New Zealandish houses, and of course getting to know the road signs more. Once again, I was so excited I took out my digital camera in the event something interesting came about.

The local information 'station', which was a pit stop for tourists like ourselves to find accomodation and inquiries into fares for attractions etc, was very helpful. Apparently, we managed to get accomodation at one of the city's most distinguishable landmarks: the sky city tower. It was very, very tall, such that we could see it in the distance and never lose our way once we caugth sight of it.

The hotel ws very posh, and it was very, modern if you will: no decorative ornaments, just colorful stone and plants and the such. We settled down into the room, and got ready to explore the city. We had already collected several travel brochures from the airport, and we had a car ready at our disposal, so we decided to travel on foot (my mother's most exhalted idea and command).

The temperature outside was approximately 23 degrees celcius, and we all opted for light jackets and longs (jeans etc). The city was readily planned in a simple grid fashion, so finding our way about was a simple manner. We saw lots of shops selling oddities and with our provisions and drinks ready in a bag carried by yours truly, we headed for Auckland Museum.

Auckland museum was situated on a hill halfway across town, and getting there required either crossing a motorway by foot or simply using a bridge that would require a major detour. As the family's unofficial guide and cameraman, I took the former, and we managed to pass a tennis complex which was hosting some major tennis tournament in New Zealand. We saw the highlights on the telly later that evening.

Reaching the foot of the hill after asking some very friendly locals, we discovered two paths: the normal walk and the lovers' walk. opting for the former since the four of us weren't lovers, we climbed the 120 meter-odd pathway and finally reached the top of the hill at 4pm. The museum closed at 5pm. damn.

Instead of cramming the whole museum into one hour, we decided to visit the museum shop and gain an inkling into New Zealand culture etc. Apparently, the shop also provided me into what became a new infatuation throughout the whole trip for me: cowbone carvings.

Cowbone carvings are part of the Maori culture where they create amulets or necklaces out of cowbone, and carve it into intricate or simple shapes. My favourite was the 'hei matau' or simply the fishhook. I was so galvanised by the design, that at the end of the trip, I had gained three of them.

we made our way back to the hotel after the wuseum closed for the day, and we managed to pass by the city's University. It was a grand building, and we hurried past to get some dinner and hopefull get back to the hotel before dark.

Dinner was a simple affair: we had some turkish kebabs at a roadside shop, and ate it at the benches next to the road. I was so happy, I was smiling all the way. Sounds silly huh?

That night, as my parents and brother were watching the telly in the hotel room, I decided to take a dip in the pool upstairs: it was closed when I had already changed into my trunks and goggles taken out. Sigh.

Cheers and stay tuned.

Crawldaddy