Auckland, the second time around

As I drove down Ponsonby Road, I felt at home and glad to be back in Auckland. It seemed weird how the sight of Sky Tower and driving the familiar roads made me feel at ease but they did and I was looking forward to another summer here.

I drove straight to the Explore NZ office as all my traveling had eaten into my bank balance and I needed to arrange an earlier start date. It was good seeing all my old work mates and catching up, I also managed to push my start date forward so I was very happy. Now all was left to do was find a hostel. I did consider staying at one of the hostels in the City because I wouldn’t have to travel far to work but as I had the car Uenuku Lodge was the easy choice.

I rung the door bell and to my surprise Olivia’s friend, Karen opened the door. Olivia and I had stayed at Uenuku when we first got to Auckland and Olivia set Karen and her friend Hayley up there when they arrived in NZ - I couldn’t believe they were still living there but after staying at Uenuku a few weeks I soon realised why. There were a lot of long termers, the longest being Stacey who was staying at Uenuku before Liv and I arrived the first time round! This created a really friendly and fun environment. I stayed the first few nights in room 2 but once the owner realised I would be staying for some time he moved me into room 1 with all the log termers.

Getting back to work was easy and it felt as though I had never been away, well apart from all my awesome memories of traveling the South Island and of course snowboarding. It felt as if I didn’t need to settle back in, I was already settled. Work was going well - it was nice to have money going back into my account and I was making some great friends. As my days off changed each week staying at the hostel was great as there were always people around to have a beer with or go out and do stuff.

Christmas and New Years was fast approaching and I didn’t have anything planned. The guys from the hostel had rented a house in Waiheke for a few days either side of Christmas and were also going to Rhythms and Vines in Gisborne. As more people were going to Waiheke than the house slept, any my boss had offered me the time off for Rhythm and Vines I decided to book a ticket. For you who don’t

know, Rhythm and Vines is a three day music festival on 29^th, 30^th and 31^st December. The party continues into the New Year and they keep the campsite open for another two days after the concert has finished. Gisborne is the first town to see the New Year in the world, so I was real excited to be amoungst the first people in the world to celebrate the New Year, raving with my hands held high. To make things even more mouth watering, the dance line up was amazing and featured the likes of Carl Cox, Justice, Boys Noize and N*E*R*D were head lining. I was so pumped for Rhythm and Vines as it had the potential of being the best New Years ever!

As I was feeling settled at Uenuku and had just brought my Rhythm and Vines ticket I was going to put the house hunting on the back burner as quite frankly I was bored of it and thought there was no point in moving until after Rhythm and Vines. Then out of the blue I got a text from a house I had viewed two or three weeks ago, offering me the room. I was torn on what to do. I knew I would enjoy my own place but at the same time I had made loads of friends at the hostel and enjoyed seeing everyone, day in day out. Then the next night out in the Viaduct made my mind up for me, I needed my privacy and not a 10 man dorm.

The next day, I text the guys back and told them I would like to take the room. The house was really nice and was situated just off Ponsonby Road so only added an extra 5 minutes to my ride to work. My new housemates were called Jen, Niamh, Eoin and Peter. They were all travelling on working holiday visa’s from Ireland. I did miss the people at the hostel but I was glad that I made the move. My new housemates were sound and we all got along really well. When I moved in all I had was my belongings so I had to borrow a mattress form the hostel and sleep on the floor. Luckily I found a bed on trade me pretty cheap and my boss let me borrow the work truck to pick it up.

My life in Auckland was great. I was enjoying work, living in my new house was going well, I was catching up with the folk from the hostel on the weekends and I was looking forward to Rhythm and Vines.

Invercargill, Catlins and Dunedin

Invercargill….What a shit hole! As I pulled in I instantly hated the place. It looked so run down, miserable and for the first time since being in New Zealand I was concerned about my car or the contents being where I left them the next morning. I should have known what to expect as, as I approached the town I saw my first KFC and McDonalds for 600k’s!

The hostel I stayed in was pretty sweet. I got the room for free and they were kind enough to give me my own room with a massive bed in, which was much appreciated and the first time I’ve had my own room and bed for a good 6 weeks. I spent the evening chilling with two crazy Canadian chicks and a dry witted English fella. The plan was to have a nice lye in then cruise through the Catlins in the morning.

Unfortunately the Catlins wasn’t what I was expecting and I was very disappointed. I was expecting a costal drive with lots to see, instead the drive was mainly inland and you had to detour to see the sights. After being in Milford and Doubtful and seeing numerous landmarks in NZ I really couldn’t be arsed to take any detours. I guess I was just in one of those moods, so I decided to give myself a kick up the ass and visit the next sight. I took the road to Mcleans Falls and as I turned the corner noticed that the falls was a 3k drive away. Against my better judgment I drove on and pulled into the car park. The next sign I saw read “Mcleans Falls, 40 minute return walk”. In the true words of a Kiwi, I thought to myself, Fuck I’m over this, got back in the car and drove to Dunedin without looking at another detour.   

From what I saw of Dunedin, I liked the atmosphere and the look of the place. Dunedin is a uni town and there were plenty of bars and clubs around. Unfortunately I arrived during exam week and the place was dead. I booked myself into the Speight’s Brewery tour and just had enough time to cook a quick steak. The word quick being key, which led to the steak being too rare, a road side incident the following day that I shouldn’t share in a blog and four or five days worth of serious stomach cramps. At least my stomach held for the tour and a few beers after in town.

Gold medals won from 1877 brewery awards

Funny ancient Egyption beer warning

Milford Sound

So after just over 4 months it was time to leave Queenstown and head back to Auckland via a massive road trip. I am traveling on my own so petrol will be expensive but I’m looking forward to doing what I want, when I want.

The entry to Milford.

First stop was Milford Sound. So for the boring part…… Milford Sound was created by ice falling off the glaciers and caving through the rock. The highest peak is around 1600 meters above sea level and the deepest part of the sound is around 400 meters. I travelled Milford by boat with Southern Discoveries. The trip took around 2 hours and was an awesome experience. You are constantly surrounded my massive mountains and due to the amount of rain everything is very lush, green, fresh and there are lots of big waterfalls. It is one of those places that you keep reaching for your camera to take pictures.

On the way back we stopped at an underwater observatory. As the Sounds gets so much rain a layer of between 4 and 6 meters sits on top of the sea water. The fresh water filters out the sun so deep sea coral and fish can live in relatively shallow waters. The observatory takes you down 30 meters and gives you an insight into the depths of the sound. I really enjoyed the day, the scenery was beautiful and it was nice to kick back, relax and know work is a few weeks away.

 Click here to view more photos of Milford Sound.