Day 20 • Auckland

The penultimate day in this wonderful country is now over. Tomorrow at 6:10 PM, the plane will fly back home.

The day started quite gray and with a little rain. Despite the urban jungle, we ventured out of the underground car park with the car and headed to Mount Eden. Although it is only about 5 kilometers from our hotel and we could have taken the bus, the locals themselves don't understand the public transport system. ;-) Taking the train was not an option either... So we chose the car. The traffic in this city is really not easy. I'm glad I didn't have to drive... Auckland itself is built into the landscape of 53 inactive volcanoes. When you look at the city from above, you can still see the elevations like Mount Eden or the Rangitoto volcano off the coast. Auckland is also the city of sailing. We could see this yesterday with the hundreds of yachts and sailboats in the harbor. Today, the teams of the 'Volvo Ocean Race' have arrived in Auckland. The offshore regatta takes place in several stages around the world. But today we didn't go to the harbor again, instead we were at the 'Auckland War Memorial Museum'. Fortunately, it wasn't just about wars, but also about the nature and culture of the Maori. We're not big fans of museums, but it was really interesting and suited for the weather. In the afternoon, it actually got a little better and we went to the 'Sky Tower', which was basically across the street from our hotel. The television tower, with its 328 meters in height, is probably the tallest television tower in the southern hemisphere. :-) I have no idea how many times some building, tree, or animal was mentioned in this context. Well, below the equator, there is much more water than land, so you can quickly become famous as a television tower. ;-) The view over the entire area of Auckland was awesome. We spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the shops on Queen Street and enjoying some food at the Food Court Elliott Stables. In the whole street, you can find everything from Spanish food, Italian, Thai, Mexican, Japanese, Indian to burgers. Then you just sit on the benches with other people and watch the colorful hustle and bustle on the street. Tomorrow afternoon, we will return the car and embark on the long journey home.