Auckland - Our first days at the other end of the world

We say goodbye to Fiji after a last day at the beach with an iced coffee and take a flight to New Zealand. After around three and a half hours of flying, we finally arrive at the other end of the world, as we now have exactly 12 hours of time difference to Germany.

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and about one third of New Zealanders live here. The former capital of New Zealand was built on a total of 53 inactive volcanoes, which are now used as gardens and offer wonderful views of the city.

We quickly notice how multicultural New Zealand is, especially in Auckland. Every fourth Aucklander was not born in New Zealand, which is evident in the many Asian small shops and restaurants. There seems to be sushi and even doner kebabs on every corner.

Entering New Zealand is faster than expected, even though we had to hand over our tent and shoes at the Bio Security, who expertly freed them from pests and plant debris. It is even much faster than entering the USA, and we had imagined it to be so complicated. The way to the first hostel is a bit more difficult, as we landed around 11 pm. According to the internet, our car rental agency is supposedly already closed. Nevertheless, we ask at the information desk, after all, we are not the only customers arriving in Auckland after 6 pm. We learn that we can pick up our car at a Park and Fly parking lot and a shuttle bus would take us there. The pick-up of the rental car otherwise goes very smoothly - completely unlike the first drives in left-hand traffic! Everything just feels wrong, especially driving around in the roundabout the wrong way round takes some getting used to! Our rental car is a bit older, but it's been performing very well so far. We named it 'Klaus-Gunther', which fits quite well. After a successful car rental handover, we only have to go to the hostel, as it's already 1 am.

The next morning, we head to the new hostel in the city center. We park Klaus-Gunther there and set off on foot to explore Auckland. First, we visit Auckland Domain, a huge (75 hectares) public park. The guidebook suggests visiting the Auckland Museum located on a hill in the park. Why not? We haven't had any other plans so far.

In the Auckland Museum, you can spend many hours (we left after four hours). The history and culture of the Māori, the 'indigenous people of New Zealand,' as well as other cultures from the Pacific Ocean, and the colonization of New Zealand by the British, are explained on the ground floor of the museum. The second floor houses a remarkable natural history collection, and the third floor serves as a memorial for the fallen soldiers of the two World Wars and deals with all military conflicts in which New Zealand was involved.

We are mainly interested in the Maori and the conflicts with the British. The Maori have not been living in New Zealand for a very long time, at least compared to other indigenous populations in other parts of the world. The ancestors of the Maori probably came from the Polynesian region and settled on the two islands in several waves of migration between the 11th and 13th centuries. They traveled on Waka, seaworthy outrigger canoes, which can also cover long distances on open sea.

An authentic Waka at the Auckland Museum

The remoteness of New Zealand made this part of the earth one of the last to be settled by humans.

Prior to James Cook, who is mostly associated with the European discovery of New Zealand in 1840, the Dutch were already here 200 years earlier, in 1642. However, the Maori did not allow Abel Tasman to come ashore. Nevertheless, he was able to leave his mark on this magnificent piece of land: after his discovery, these two islands, which are called 'Aotearoa' (Land of the Long White Cloud) in the Maori language, were named 'Nieuw Zeeland'.

After the museum, we take a stroll through the Domain Park and visit the adjacent Botanic Garden, which features all sorts of tropical plants.

Next, we head to Queen Road. Once the heart of Auckland, this street has lost some of its importance in recent years and looks somewhat neglected. However, the city is trying to counteract the relocation of Auckland's cultural center to the harbor, so cultural centers, theaters, and other public facilities are being created here.

One of the highlights of Auckland is certainly the Sky Tower, which, at 368 meters, is the tallest television tower in the southern hemisphere. You can even walk outside the tower hanging from a rope at 192 meters above the ground or (in supposedly typical New Zealand style) jump off the roof... but we content ourselves with a cookie in hand and enjoy the view from safe ground.

Lastly, we make our way to the Waterfront, where we admire the historic Ferry Building and the huge cruise ships anchored there.

The next day, we visit Maungakiekie, also known as One Tree Hill. Curiously, there is no longer a tree on the summit of this dormant volcano. The last pine tree was felled in the 1990s by a Maori activist who wanted to draw attention to the thousands of kauri trees that had been felled. Even though the name is no longer quite accurate, the view of the spread out city with its many bays and lakes is impressive.

The summit of Mount Maungakiekie is adorned with an obelisk commemorating the Treaty of Waitangi, the first constitution of New Zealand

The view of Auckland's city center

Near Cornwall Park, which surrounds One Tree Hill, lies Mount Eden, another one of the 49 volcanoes on which Auckland is built. (Fun fact: According to the guidebook, it is not exactly known how many extinct volcanoes are located in and around Auckland. Many of the basalt hills, often only 100-200 meters high, have been eroded over time and therefore forgotten.) On its flank, you'll find the Eden Garden, one of Auckland's first public gardens. Nowadays, the entrance fee is 11 dollars, which mainly goes towards the preservation and care of this paradisiacal spot on Earth.

Small streams, waterfalls, and bridges keep appearing in the green thicket

And that's the end of our time in Auckland, and we start our road trip north. Today, we'll make it to Shakespear Regional Park, where we'll spend our first night in the tent. But more about that in the next entry. Until then!