Tag 34 - Auckland

The day starts early, after all we only have one day in Auckland. We walk towards the harbor and have breakfast in a café. During this time, we see at least three people walking past the café with their umbrellas turned inside out. In Australia, we were annoyed to have packed long clothes and a rain jacket, but now we are quite glad about it.

We walk along the harbor for a while and then continue to the Ponsonby district. It is known for its small cafés, restaurants, and bars. We pass by Western Park (Māori: Tuna Mau). There are three artworks there that represent buildings that once stood in Auckland.

Then we start the hike to Mount Eden (Māori: Maungawhau). The rain has subsided temporarily, but it is still quite windy. From Mount Eden, we have a great view of Auckland. In the afternoon, we drive back to the city to pick up our luggage and go to the car rental service.

When we arrive at the car rental service, we already suspect that our rental car will not be as good as the ones in Hobart and Melbourne, and our expectations are quickly lowered. As soon as we start driving in the first golden carrot (Hyundai i10), the check engine light starts blinking. After some back and forth, we get a Mazda Demio, whose radio unfortunately only speaks Japanese. Apparently, there is no Bluetooth either, which frustrates Dennis for a moment. At least there is no more blinking after a few meters of driving, and we can start our first journey to Rotorua. We are relieved when we finally arrive in Rotorua and decide not to drive with the rental car after dark anymore, because it gets really pitch dark in the evenings, and the lights of our Mazda are quite poor.