Auf Wiedersehen Auckland!

We landed in Sydney just under 3 hours ago and have already left Auckland behind in the past few days. However, we didn't want to withhold the city of Auckland from you.

Before selling the car, we spent some time exploring the city center of Auckland. We had heard a lot of negative things about the city, and unfortunately, it has to be said that for a city with a population of one million and being the largest city in New Zealand, it doesn't offer much.

However, what makes Auckland stand out is the volcanic Mount Eden. It is located quite centrally in the city center, and from the top, you can have a fantastic view of the whole city. Additionally, the entire crater is covered in green grass, which is a stark contrast to Mount Ngauruhoe and its crater.

The city center of Auckland is basically just one street: Queen Street. Especially in the evenings, you quickly notice that the side streets are rather deserted. But during the day, it's crowded with people, and as is typical for New Zealand, there are plenty of fast food restaurants, for example, the 3 Burger Kings that are native to the area.

Overall, Auckland didn't have much to offer, but that gave us even more time to plan for our onward journey and take care of various errands. And let's not forget, we also invested the money we earned from selling the car in new clothes at Auckland's 'Dress Smart' (an outlet center) ;)

It was strange to leave New Zealand this morning after 4 and a half months. We have been able to see so many beautiful things and are still very impressed by the diversity of this country.
But now we are looking forward to the upcoming days in Sydney and our last month in Bali! Booking some pretty fancy hotels has increased our anticipation even more.