13 hours later I walked through customs and out into the
first fresh air I had in 24 hours. I also had completely passed from Friday
into Sunday without a stop in Saturday.
Arriving so early in the morning as I did, I wasn’t able to
check into my hostel until later in the day. So I checked my bag, bought some
Internet time (because internet is rarely free in New Zealand), and then headed
out to the Domain to enjoy the fresh air. It was a little bit of a walk, or “a
good stretch of the legs,” but worth it being outside. The Domain was also where
the Auckland Museum is located.
This building holds a wide variety of exhibits from the
Maori culture to natural history. I was impressed with the depth of information
located in one building…even if I didn’t read a thing, it was still nice to
view the objects and feel like I was learning a little about the locale area.
On my walk back I discovered the street was blocked,
bandstands had been erected, and a mass of people were gathered on the street
out in front of my hostel. I had no clue why they were there, but was happy to
be able to cross the street and get into the building to check in.
After unloading my bag in my new room, I met up with my friend and headed for a tour around Auckland. That;s the Sky Tower behind me to the right, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and about a block away from my hostel.
Since I did completely skip over Saturday and into Sunday, I was pretty tired and forced myself to stay out and about until after 7pm. It was still light out when I fell asleep, it being summer here and all, but I didn't care, I had been awake since 3am Auckland time and couldn't hold my eyes open another second.
Travel, no matter what kind, is very tiring...
