So I tried to update this this morning but our internet connection was weak and when I tried posting it, it erased everything I wrote. Boo! I guess I’ll try to remember what I wrote? This one will end up being two posts combined. Hopefully tomorrow I will get back on track.
Yesterday we ended up getting our car stuff sorted out. Turns out if you go INTO the bank, you can get out as much money as you want. We were happy we figured that out because we really didn’t want to stay around Auckland any longer than we had to, especially just waiting to get money out of ATMs. We had our car inspected and there were no major problems, just a couple little things that only cost about $200 NZ to fix so we had to wait around that day for them to get the work done.
Auckland smells like China to me. And it isn’t a bad smell; it’s just a distinct smell. And it’s just another big city, nothing special as far as I’m concerned. We were both ready to leave but had to wait a little longer for our car. Since it was raining off and on all day yesterday we killed time by going to Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium. It was pretty cool…they had huge rays, sharks, sea turtles, and a tiny car that took you into the penguin exhibit. After that we booked a hostel that was recommended to us by someone Katy knows. We had our own room but not our own bathroom. It ended up being pretty clean. I might be slowly getting over my germ phobia…maybe not getting over it, but getting better about it. I slept in my cocoon so I wouldn’t have to touch the sheets of courseJ
Anyway, today we got up and headed back down to pay for the rest of our car and see if the repairs were done. They said it would be another couple hours so we went and got breakfast (AWESOME coffee here by the way) and went to the store to get PB&J stuff to take in the car and some paper towels, etc. Finally went and picked up our car so we could get the heck out of the area. And when I say car, I mean van with a built-in bed in the back and curtains on the windows. It pretty much looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo.
Since Katy is a better navigator and doesn’t get car sick, I got to be the first driver. The whole driving on the wrong side/steering wheel on the wrong side thing actually didn’t take that long to get used to. You just have to pay a little bit more attention. Also, our van takes diesel which is good because it gets better gas mileage and it’s only $1 NZ/liter and gas is like $1.68/liter. Once we got out of Auckland the weather started to clear up and we finally got to the pretty parts of NZ…greens hills and mountains with sheep on them. We drove up the coast to Whangarei to see Whangarei Falls and then on to the Bay of Islands. For lunch we stopped at a place called Fruit World which was just a market that sold the most awesome fruits and vegetables. Next door there was a little seafood market and that had a few things to eat too. I got 2 oysters, 2 mussels and a scallop…all fried but REALLY good and very cheap. From the fruit place I got a huge chunk of yellow watermelon and a weird fruit called Paw Paw…kind of looks like a small papaya but yellow instead of orange. Yum!
There wasn’t much in Whangarei besides Whangarei Falls, which was really pretty, so we continued up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. Paihia is a major hostel and restaurant spot, but since we didn’t get here until early evening, almost all places were booked except for one that had an apartment suite available. It was all that was left and really not much more expensive. So that’s where I am right now…it has a bathroom, living area, kitchen and we’re watching American Idol, ha! Definitely an upgrade from last night but hopefully it won’t spoil us. Tomorrow we’re going to hang out at the beaches around here and then go on an over-night boat trip around the islands. Since that’s an entire day in itself, I may not get to write about it until 2 days or so from now. I’ll also post more pictures soon, promise.
Yesterday we ended up getting our car stuff sorted out. Turns out if you go INTO the bank, you can get out as much money as you want. We were happy we figured that out because we really didn’t want to stay around Auckland any longer than we had to, especially just waiting to get money out of ATMs. We had our car inspected and there were no major problems, just a couple little things that only cost about $200 NZ to fix so we had to wait around that day for them to get the work done.
Auckland smells like China to me. And it isn’t a bad smell; it’s just a distinct smell. And it’s just another big city, nothing special as far as I’m concerned. We were both ready to leave but had to wait a little longer for our car. Since it was raining off and on all day yesterday we killed time by going to Kelly Tarlton’s Aquarium. It was pretty cool…they had huge rays, sharks, sea turtles, and a tiny car that took you into the penguin exhibit. After that we booked a hostel that was recommended to us by someone Katy knows. We had our own room but not our own bathroom. It ended up being pretty clean. I might be slowly getting over my germ phobia…maybe not getting over it, but getting better about it. I slept in my cocoon so I wouldn’t have to touch the sheets of courseJ
Anyway, today we got up and headed back down to pay for the rest of our car and see if the repairs were done. They said it would be another couple hours so we went and got breakfast (AWESOME coffee here by the way) and went to the store to get PB&J stuff to take in the car and some paper towels, etc. Finally went and picked up our car so we could get the heck out of the area. And when I say car, I mean van with a built-in bed in the back and curtains on the windows. It pretty much looks like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo.
Since Katy is a better navigator and doesn’t get car sick, I got to be the first driver. The whole driving on the wrong side/steering wheel on the wrong side thing actually didn’t take that long to get used to. You just have to pay a little bit more attention. Also, our van takes diesel which is good because it gets better gas mileage and it’s only $1 NZ/liter and gas is like $1.68/liter. Once we got out of Auckland the weather started to clear up and we finally got to the pretty parts of NZ…greens hills and mountains with sheep on them. We drove up the coast to Whangarei to see Whangarei Falls and then on to the Bay of Islands. For lunch we stopped at a place called Fruit World which was just a market that sold the most awesome fruits and vegetables. Next door there was a little seafood market and that had a few things to eat too. I got 2 oysters, 2 mussels and a scallop…all fried but REALLY good and very cheap. From the fruit place I got a huge chunk of yellow watermelon and a weird fruit called Paw Paw…kind of looks like a small papaya but yellow instead of orange. Yum!
There wasn’t much in Whangarei besides Whangarei Falls, which was really pretty, so we continued up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. Paihia is a major hostel and restaurant spot, but since we didn’t get here until early evening, almost all places were booked except for one that had an apartment suite available. It was all that was left and really not much more expensive. So that’s where I am right now…it has a bathroom, living area, kitchen and we’re watching American Idol, ha! Definitely an upgrade from last night but hopefully it won’t spoil us. Tomorrow we’re going to hang out at the beaches around here and then go on an over-night boat trip around the islands. Since that’s an entire day in itself, I may not get to write about it until 2 days or so from now. I’ll also post more pictures soon, promise.
