Yet, I had a full week ahead of me with two more friends scheduled to come to Auckland. So, I put on a smile and pushed myself to enjoy what could potentially be one of my last weeks in New Zealand. The first friend scheduled to come in on Saturday was John, one of the Canadians whom Sontsa and I traveled with in the south island a few weeks prior. Then, my Indonesian friend Ricky, whom Sontsa and I had couchsurfed with during our travels, was due to arrive on Monday. Beforethey came to town though, one of my British cousin’s friends Mary got in touch with me. She lives in Auckland as well, but I had only briefly met her during my first initial week in New Zealand. So, we met up again that Saturday at the Aotea Centre, where the Auckland Arts and Crafts Fair was being held. The place was packed with people, and the items for sale were really awesome…very unique and fun. It was enjoyable just to walk around and look at everything. Afterward, Mary and I went to grab a coffee at this fantastic coffee shop that she knew. Located upstairs on one of the side roads off of Queen Street, it was a well-hidden gem. We sat on one of the couches inside, drinking delicious mochas and chatting for hours.
Then, it was time for me to go greet John at the bus stop down by the harbour. He was originally only going to stay a night or two, then go a little further north for a few days to see some more New Zealand highlights before coming back to Auckland to fly out for good. However, by the time he got here, he was all traveled out and decided to pass on going up north. Lucky for me, that meant I had a sightseeing buddy for the next 5 days! After he first arrived, we walked to the Frienz hostel to get him set up there. I was happy to be able to see Lysann again at the hostel, the German girl Marie had previously introduced me to while staying at Frienz. Then, John and I were off to do a little exploring around the city. We walked down to the harbour, admired the yachts, strolled along The Viaduct by the flashy restaurants and bars on the water, then made our way back up Queen Street to find some food. John was quite funny, having us walk further and further up Queen Street… and beyond, determined to find the perfect place to eat that was both cheap and good. In the end, we settled for some tasty kebabs. After dinner, we wandered around Albert Park (my favorite park in Auckland), then went to Cassette (my favorite bar in Auckland).
I don’t think I mentioned before that Cassette is located on a sweet as road in Auckland called Vulcan Lane. As soon as you walk onto Vulcan Lane, it is like walking onto a road in Europe. I absolutely love it! John and I stayed at Cassette for a couple of hours chatting and filling each other in on our travels. Then, we called it an early night, as we had big plans for the next day. I met him at his hostel in the morning, and we headed out for a full day of exploration. For an extra boost of energy, we grabbed a chocolate crepe from one of the small vendors on the way out—delish! To much amusement, it quickly became apparent during our day out that I was a miserable excuse for an Auckland tour guide haha. John and I soon switched roles, with him showing ME around my own city =) We walked to the Auckland Domain, where the Botanical Gardens and the Auckland Museum were located. The Domain is actually Auckland’s oldest park (a random fact I learned at a quiz night the other night). I had previously been to the Auckland Museum with Sontsa and Brigita my first week in New Zealand, but was happy to go again. Among other things, its exhibits offer a lot of information on Maori culture, the wars New Zealand had been involved in over the years, as well as the infamous earthquakes and volcanoes the country is known for.
One particular exhibit is interactive and pretty intense. It involves you walking into this miniature house, which is set up to resemble an Auckland living room, with a couch, a television, and large bay window that is meant to be overlooking the harbour. What many of you may not know is that Auckland is actually a massive volcanic field made up of 49 different dormant volcanoes. So yeah, the exhibit quite intensely demonstrated what one could expect to experience if a massive volcanic eruption were to occur in Auckland. After all, New Zealand is certainly a tectonically active place these days! After seeing the museum and the gardens, we decided to walk to one of the nearby suburbs, Parnell. We took a really random path through the park’s woods to get there, but managed to find our way (correction: John managed to find his way and I just followed him haha). Parnell is New Zealand’s oldest suburb, but it is very chic and generally known for being a bit upper-class. It is famed for its cafes, restaurants, galleries, and charming boutique-style stores. After walking around for a bit there, John and I took the local city bus (Link bus) back to the city center and continued our exploring elsewhere. We walked all the way up the whole of Queen Street, making it to Upper Queen Street, over to K Road, and eventually all the way to Ponsonby Road, reaching the Ponsonby surburb of Auckland.
Before that, I had only ever been to Ponsonby for the trial runs at the restaurant. So, I was quite excited to properly check out the trendy little suburb. Like Parnell, Ponsonby is more of an upper-middle class area, known for its great cafes, restaurants, art galleries, and up-market shops. Yet, it doesn’t have a pretentious feel to it at all—definitely one of my favorite spots in Auckland! I owe it to John for prompting me to step out of the little bubble I had formed for myself around the city center =) Who knows how long it would have taken me to step out of my comfort zone if it weren’t for him. That night, I wanted to cook John dinner as a thank you for all the times he and Arash had cooked for Sontsa and I during our travels with them. We made a plan for him to meet me at the flat in a few hours. However, I had a change of plans when I got home and Emma and Daiana were about to leave to take Daiana back to the emergency room again. I of course felt like I needed to go with them. I stayed at the hospital with Daiana for a few hours while she had more bloodwork done and ended up getting an IV drip. The good news was she was going to be fine. I hated seeing her so stressed though =( Emma came back to the hospital to take Daiana home, and I went to John’s hostel. Since it was past dinner time by then, we just ended up spending the evening playing cards. It was really fun though; some of my best evenings in New Zealand have involved playing card games in hostels =)
Cheers,
Ash
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