I arrived in Auckland this morning, had a good flight and everything, with a stop in Rarotonga, in the Cook Islands. I didn’t have a real solid idea of what I wanted to do in New Zealand (and still don’t), and didn’t feel that my 5 days here warrants a guidebook purchase (am also regretting only planning 5 days here. Don’t really know what I was thinking), so I was either going to play it by ear, and either take a ferry to Waiheke Island in the Bay of Islands near Auckland to stay at a hostel there, or take a bus south to Rotorua to see the thermals/geysers/hot springs. Well, my decision ended up being made for me, unfortunately enough. My backpack never arrived in Auckland. It would certainly be nice to have, but I was prepared, having all my valuables on me. I don’t have a change of clothes or a towel, however. Anyway, I made a claim with Air New Zealand at the airport, (which is very nice, by the way, as is all of New Zealand I have seen so far) and they gave me a number to call when I knew where I was staying. The fact that my backpack might arrive today made me decide to stay in Auckland tonight. So, I picked the most auspicious, flashily advertised, probably largest hostel in town, Auckland Central Backpackers. It’s like a giant dorm, and they’re always arranging activities, etc. You’d think you’d meet lots of people at a place like this, but you really don’t, since everyone either has their own group, or assumes that you do. Anyway, I booked a day tour of the Bay of Islands with another night at a hostel in Paihia, which is somewhere, I don’t know, but I guess it’s supposed to be nice. I got a room here for tonight, a drink at the bar, 1 hour of internet, the bus tour of the Bay of Islands, continental breakfast (wow), a free transfer to the airport when I leave and some other goofy things for $150 NZD, about $100 USD. I feel maybe as if things went a little hastily in my decision making process; after all it’s only 2:00 PM, but I have lost a day (left on Monday morning, arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Thank you, International Date Line) so maybe I had better catch up? And now I leave out of Auckland for Australia this weekend. I can’t believe I only planned 5 days here. It didn’t take me long at all to realize I could easily spend 6 months exploring this country. It’s cheap too. Oh well. In the Future. Anyway, being here, I do like the accents, and the left-side-of-the-road driving.
I read a USA Today on the plane this morning. Strange reading about the US from the outside. I also got to watch Spin City and Frasier on the Plane. Yippee. In the airport in Rarotonga, a shop was playing that song about the “convoy” with the man in the deep voice; “…In a Kenworth, pullin’ logs,” etc. Reminded me of Monte.
I’m definitely still experiencing a bit of the “I’m not really here, am I?” phenomenon. I sometimes wonder as well if the flexibility of being alone is worth the disadvantages of sustained companionship that it at times lacks in. I am not confident at all about making friends in this place. It feels like a school cafeteria where you have to walk up to someone and formally introduce yourself, ask “Hello, would you like to be my friend?” But, I have plenty to do this afternoon. I don’t need other travellers slowing me down. I am going to try very hard to find an internet cafe that will let me download my Tahiti photos and upload them to the internet for you all to see. There were quite a few on Queen St. that I saw on the way here from the airport. Trendy place, this.
Waiting for the plane to reboard in Rarotonga, I met two Americans, one sort of daft exercisey-type lady, and a guy who lives in Australia, was raised in Japan, speaks fluent Japanese, minored in Linguistics for his undergrad degree, and has his PhD. in “Yield Management” and can’t be a day over 30. He flys for free on all of the Star Alliance airlines (Air NZ, United, Air Canada, Lufthansa, etc.) because he works in their “Yield Management” program, which from all I understood is basically something having to do with selling plane tickets. He lives on the Gold Coast in Australia, near Brisbane, and highly recommended it. Apparently, you can get a flight from Sydney to Brisbane or some other place near for $30 AUD, which is maybe $25 USD. Maybe? Who knows. I will definitely pick up an Australian Lonely Planet before I leave New Zealand, though, I think. 2.5 weeks justifies it, I think.
