The Brits are Back in Town

After getting the fantastic news about my job extension, that following weekend was made even better with the visit of two of my favorite Brits, Mia and Greg! I hadn’t seen them since Sontsa and I last left Napier, which had been almost four months ago by that point. So, I was absolutely thrilled to see them again! Sadly, the ultimate reason they came to Auckland was to fly back home to England, so it was to be the last weekend I would spend with them (in New Zealand at least). I met them in front of the ferry building on Saturday morning, the two of them looking quite swag in their black leather jackets. =) We walked around the harbour and stopped by one of the jet boating offices to make a booking for the next day.

I still had the free jet boating voucher from John, plus Mia and Greg had bought some half price jet boating coupons from one of the New Zealand websites that offers deals. We booked in for Sunday afternoon, then did some more venturing around the city (by some, I actually mean heaps). We explored for a total of almost seven hours! While checking out the yachts by the harbour, we noticed a crowd of people that had gathered a bit further down for some unknown reason. We walked over to see what the excitement was all about and saw that a new pedestrian drawbridge had been built, leading to a whole new section of the harbour that I had never been to before.

Well, before we had a chance to cross the bridge, it inexplicably went up. None of us had seen a boat come by, so we were a bit confused. A few moments later, a tiny remote-controlled sailboat passed by us from the direction of the bridge haha. Mia, Greg and I all looked at each other with bewildered expressions…surely the bridge hadn’t gone up for that fake little boat. The bridge eventually started to go back down, but was apparently interrupted by something and again raised back up. This time, it was for kayakers! Haha. It was quite comical though. We stood there for ages, but the bridge never came back down. So, we decided to take the extended route to get to the area on the other side of that bridge, which was a good 45-minute walk.

Once we got there, it was one of the strangest things I have seen. The place had unexplained crowds of people everywhere. The only thing going on was a concert…that no one was watching. Oh, and the stage was literally right in front of an enormous industrial tank. Other than that, the area had a small green hill with fake grass on it for kids to play on, plus a baffling glass construction that was no more than a multiple-level structure with multiple staircases and an elevator. I guess it could have been for viewing purposes. I mean, after all, those industrial tanks and that sad little green hill were enthralling haha. After our confusing experience there, we exited over the drawbridge (which had surprisingly come down), and were off for some more exploring.

Greg bought a proper rugby shirt for his granddad from the Official Rugby Store near the harbour. Then, we walked up Queen Street, and had a nice dinner at a steakhouse in the Queens Arcade shopping center called the Patio Restaurant. Mia insisted on buying my dinner too—such a sweetheart. =) Afterward, the three of us ventured to Look Sharp, where Greg and I got in trouble for taking pictures of him wearing silly hats, then to Vulcan Lane, High Street, Lorne Avenue, Upper Queen Street, K Road, and finally back to my flat. There, Mia and Greg met Emma and we all hung out for a bit chatting and trying on Emma’s famed afro wig. At Emma’s suggestion, the four of us walked down to Elliott Stables and enjoyed some tasty churros. Yummmm. Emma went back to the flat, and I walked around some more with my Brits before walking them back to their hotel. I ended my evening with a 4-hour Skype with Ricky. =) Splendid day!