Day 33 - New Zealand

Today we are flying to New Zealand. First stop is Auckland on the North Island, so in the morning we take the train to Sydney Airport. The flight to New Zealand takes three hours, plus another two hours time difference (+12 hours German time) and a delay in departure, we land in Auckland at 6 pm. The customs process takes a while, as we have to declare our hiking boots and they are inspected. New Zealand is very strict at the border, after all, there is flora and fauna that is unique to this country. It takes a little while to figure out how to get to the city by bus. The train is not operating due to construction. As in Melbourne, you need a special card, but it cannot be purchased directly on the bus or similar, only in specific shops. The card is then loaded with money and tapped on the reader when getting on and off the bus. In Sydney, the system was similar, but you could also use your own credit card, which saves buying the card and loading it. Another peculiarity in Australia and New Zealand is that you have to wave for the bus to stop. If no one gets off, the bus will drive past the bus stop.

Once we finally arrive at our hotel, we quickly head to the city center to grab some food and explore the city. The floods are hardly visible, only a few shops have placed buckets as ceilings seem to be leaking.

We pass by Myers Park and walk along Queen Street. We stroll past the Sky Tower until we reach Queens Wharf, but can only see a rather industrialized area of the harbor. We pass by the Britomart station, which is underground and can only be recognized above ground by glass domes. The evening ends with a burger.