#NewZealand17 Auckland Part 1

Auckland and the surrounding area looked disappointingly like the UK I decided as my plane finally touched down on the runway. My 24 hours flight had been made bearable by paid for WiFi on the last leg, but Blake, my travel companion, was not replying to my message regarding airport collection.

My new friend in the window seat, Simon the Italian, offered me a lift "my friend's collecting me from the airport in his lunch break, we can drop you in town" I agreed. I could always change my mind if Blake was in arrivals.

An hour and a half later, after bio-security vetting and a surprising amount of hassle collecting my portable WiFi device, he wasn't. I got in Simon's housemate's old car and tried not to inhale their cigarette smoke as I gathered small insights into their life of 100% alcohol drinks, enormous houseparties and surfing.

 Simon's friend got out at his workplace and Simon dropped me at the hostel. There I met Blake, and after a big hug we walked into Auckland city for a drink.
I bought a delicious icecream pot from a place called Joy, which had two life-size model cows outside which you could milk into a pail. Here's Blake doing just that:

It was overcast but we walked along the marina and got a coffee before visiting Auckland Maritime museum. At the museum we saw lots of interesting boats and models of boats, most of which sadly ended in tragedy, having sunk either in wartime or due to falling foul of New Zealand's infamously treacherous West coast.

The museum also had an extensive exhibition on Peter Blake, a New Zealand yachtsman who won the round-the-world race the year I was born. 

The sun was shining brightly in Auckland harbour by the time we came out. It was hot and beautiful, and I remarked not for the last time this trip, that life didn't get any better than this.

After the museum, Blake and I stopped in an authentic Japanese restaurant for lunch, bringing back fond memories as I slurped my tofu ramen with chopsticks, and then we returned to the hostel, a nasty shabby place called Station Backpackers, where I took a two hour nap to keep my eyes looking in the same direction.

At 6.30 we walked back down towards the Marina, where we met Nic, an old schoolfriend,and her fiancé. We spent a pleasant few hours discussing mutual friends, and cultural differences between home and New Zealand, before tiredness forced us to our respective beds, via a supermarket dash to prepare for tomorrow's epic train journey.