...Auckland...

I arrived in Auckland on 31.10.2019 at 1.30am, again with a delay. I had not booked a hostel for the first night and instead planned to sleep at the airport. The only usable place to sleep was a bench in the airport arrival hall. Since that was a pretty bad idea and I didn't get a wink of sleep (as expected), I took a bus into the city at five o'clock, sneaked into my hostel, and waited until two o'clock to finally check into my 6-bed room.

In the 'Oaklands Lodge' where I stayed, it almost feels like home. The people are great and most of them are a bit older (like me), there is a cozy lounge and a garden with hammocks, and the area is quite beautiful for Auckland - right below the extinct volcano Mount Eden.

On my very first evening, almost the entire hostel went to a Halloween party in the city. So I had two sleepless nights in a row...

The city center of Auckland is pretty ugly, loud, and seems to consist only of construction sites. But there are many attractions around. Especially the trips to the islands Waiheke and Rangitoto were worth it. Waiheke is known for its beautiful nature and wineries, Rangitoto is an old volcanic island.

I went to Rangitoto with three guys from the hostel. One of the guys stayed at a different hostel the night before and had all his luggage with him, including his guitar. So we had musical accompaniment on our hike in addition to the beautiful but somehow surreal nature. :-) From the summit of the old volcano, we had a fantastic view over Auckland and the surrounding islands.

But my favorite place in Auckland is definitely Mount Eden. From here, you have a wonderful view over the city and we went there several times to watch the sunset.

During the first few days, I mainly took care of all the paperwork, i.e. applying for a tax number, SIM card, and bank account. The latter took forever...

Now it's about finding a job as soon as possible!!!