Your name up in... Sand?

I know it isn't you Birthday, but I knew who needed their name on the volcanic sands of a subtropical beach the most, and I knew who would a appreciate it the most too. Xx

3 days in one!

Well, I don't have an awful lot to say to be honest, it has been a 'heavy' few days in my head if I'm honest so I may not have been able to enjoy the last 3 days to their full potential. On Sunday I did a beach and rainforest walk. I had a lovely guide and was accompanied by two men from Shanghai and an Australian mother and daughter. Mostly pictures will suffice for this one, so that's what you'll get! My camera battery ran out at the last stop (the one I'd been most excited about) so I have very few photos of that.
The next day was my coach ride from Auckland and Wellington which went ahead without incident (actually, we had an emergency tyre change, but it was pretty hassle free) so there's not much to report on that front, again, pictures to follow.
Lastly I am here in Wellington, the hose is amazing and so are the hosts. They have a cat, Juno, she is a black (smoke) Oriental (which if you don't know, is a Siamese in a different colour) who is lovely and friendly, loud and purrs but has a Jekyll and Hyde style personality and will turn and attack you with no warning, it's quite funny really.
My room is lovely, but cold compared to my baking hot room in Auckland! This house is so full of life in comparison, there are two other guests, a young couple from Switzerland and Holland.
My Day began with me happily playing Ukulele outside, only for the well meaning Dutch girl to offer to walk me into town, then she walked me onto a bus and to the museum. My only plans for today were to relax (because I was very stressed) and then find my route into the city ready for when I needed it tomorrow morning, taking note of when and where the bus stopped, the name and route of the bus and bus stop, and how to get from there to the tourist information building. Well I had my plan, and then every part of it got changed and I found myself at the museum, having got the wrong bus, in the wrong place, etc etc, only to be told "Right, I'll be off then, you will be okay, wont you?" Um.... NO. There I was at the Museum, for no apparent reason, unable to go back to the house for fear of offending the girl who had taken me there for no apparent reason, and having no idea how to get back even if I wanted to. I went into melt down and found myself totally unable to work out what to do next. I'm not writing this to indulge some part of myself that wants to moan (well, just a little) I am writing this so I can rightly tell you what happened next.
The kindest two people came along and helped me. They calmed me down, they offered to buy me coffee, they walked with me all the way to the train station (their idea) and help me find the buses I would need on Friday when I move one. They left me with kind words, a map and a prayer for my success for the rest of my travels. They left me with more gratitude than I can possibly express and I have tears in my eyes even as I write this. I wish I had a way to tell them how much their kindness touched me. Their names are Elizabeth and Martin, they come from England. I feel proud to be British, and proud to be human, we're not a bad bunch. Thank you Beth and Martin.
(And it took me over and hour and a half to find my way home from the bus!)
Now photos...

Get ready, it's a long one... (And a weird one...)

today I woke up 7.30 and I couldn't get back to sleep so I started planning my Day. I was hoping to go to Pasifika and the Zoo as they are right next to each other. It took me over an hour of scouring the Internet to find the right bus, not a single site was helpful! I eventually found a route map and pieced it together from that! Ridiculous! Anyway, I cooked myself some Pasta ready for tea tonight (whose idea was it to hide the washing up equipment when they left me alone in this house??) and eventually left for the bus. With an immense amount of worrying I actually managed to catch the RIGHT one, (Mt Eden Station to Britomart) which I now know isn't all that impressive… All roads lead to Britomart it would seem! I then waited a very long time at a very busy bus stop at Auckland's main bus station and eventually caught a bus to Great north road opposite motion street. Well done me! On the bus I witnessed the most wonderfull coming together of cultures. An older frenchman, decided to engage EVERYONE around him with stories of his life, his upcoming wedding, and quite unapologetically, of his conception! He targeted two couples specifically, as they were closest and at the journey went on, the conversation turned to pronouncing words. The couples were both a French boy with a Japanese girl, and I don't think they knew each other either! It was wonderful watching five people all trying to explain the meaning of different words to each other, but in English, which was no ones first language! It was great. Then we arrived. I looked over at Pasifika and instantly realised the only reason I wanted to go was so I looked like I'd done something worthwhile, “look at Hannah, out in New Zealand, going to cultural festivals” when actually I just wanted to go to the zoo. It looked far too commercial for me, all stages and thousands of people. I was sort of expecting something like the German Market at Christmas only with Pacific islands showcasing their cultures, but it was more like a music festival and it just didn't appeal to me. I decided the wiser thing to do would be to do what I wanted to do, not what I thought I should do because other people would be pleased. So, I went to the zoo. Admission was reduced because Pasifika next door, so that was positive too! I didn't see all that many animals, most of the good ones were hiding, although that depends which you consider 'the good ones' (the big cats, obviously! I got some good photos which I can't post now, but will soon. There where a few VERY high points, most notably, I saw a Kiwi. Not a fruit, not a person, a bird. A real, live, indigenous, endangered brown Kiwi. They are faster and bigger than I expected! I have to admit that this has been a dream of mine since I was a small child and after that I decided I couldn't really complain if I didn't see a single other animal that day. It was only 10 minutes or so later that I saw the eels swimming and I knew I had to be somewhere. I rocketed past all the other enclosures, saying hello to the animals who were there and moving past the animals who weren't. No Servals, No Lions, No Cheetahs!! What a jip! So I said one last good by to the Tiger, who was sulking the other side of the enclosure and hopped on a bus back to Britomart. I'm serious, I HOPPED on a bus! ME!! Literally, the bus that was already at the stop, not even a bus that I had looked up in advance! Although obviously I bought a ticket to where I wanted to go, I didn't just get on any bus, I'm not MAD! And from Britomart I headed towards Mission Bay to SEA LIFE! I knew I needed to be there, so I went. There were stingrays as big as me, Pinguins (go on, say it out loud, you'll sound like a New Zealander!) and Eels in abundance! There were some fascinating Octopods, and I took far to many videos of their beautifully ugly arms, suckers a plenty, swirling around! There were sharks, lovely sharks and best of all the sharks was a little smooth hound! I thought “Hello friend, you are like a little piece of my favourite memories!”. But all these beautiful and wonderful things could never live up to the WONDER and SPLENDOUR of what else they had. I think it was meant to be. I think I was MEANT to go there, I think it was CALLING ME.
ARCHITEUTHIS DUX. If the name sounds familiar but you have no Idea what godly animal I am referring to, then maybe you have heard my song 'Is that okay?'. Obviously not a living god, this was a 12 year old specimen, presumably in formaldehyde (but there was no information) and the most horrifically magnificent decaying animal I have ever seen! I left feeling amazed yet a little unsatisfied, it was my least favourite aquarium, probably just below silent world. It promised more than it delivered. I hopped home on 2 more buses (bringing today's total to 6!) not bad for a bus phobic recluse!
Now I am home, I think I will have to go and buy some more Apples before I leave for Wellington as I will probably not get a chance...I have PLANS for tomorrow and may not get back until the evening, then the next day is all travelling!!
I have sun burn! Love you all!!
(I will post Zoo/Aquarium photos another time when I can.)

"Made it, Ma! Top of the world!"

Just a few photos from the top of Mt Eden, yesterday and the day before!
Lucky I had Archie to keep my company!!
Missed sunset both times, I'm not going up again!! There will be other sunsets!

There's always been a Baggins, living here under the Hill in Bag End. And there always will be...

Well then, lets see if you can guess what THIS one's about!! I got up at 5.30am, (yes that's right, it exists!) and got the coach. We travelled through the slightly dull countryside which always seemed to look better through the windows on the other side of the coach! We stopped of in the town of Cambridge, the equestrian centre of... I don't know, New Zealand? Waikato? The North island? ...of somewhere anyway. I learnt there is a Maori king and there are 53 old volcanos in Auckland. (such as Mt Eden where I'm staying.) we travelled for about two hours before stopping at a disappointing gravel car park in the middle of nowhere with a few small, un exciting buildings. There we go on another bus with a new guide and THAT'S where it turned into PURE MAGIC (no exaggeration). Have you ever been so overwhelmed buy something good or bad that happened that you don't tell anyone because there's now way you could ever convey how big and important it is to you? Yes? No? Well that's the situation, right here, right now. So all I will say is I will be coming back here, and the Green Dragon/bridge/water mill was the best! (Huge understatements!)
Enjoy the photos, I have about 100.
Lisa, I thought of you a lot! You would love it, I hope you like the photos.
(The Green Dragon was made more fantastical with the addition of beautiful fiddle music and an earthenware mug of fiery Ginger beer!)

Yesterday

Well, what can I say? My first day in Auckland was a mixed bag. I walked to the supermarket through the prettiest neighbourhood I have ever seen! Think white washed houses and picket fence, think little front porches and flower beds... And then put all that in Jurassic Park! I'm not kidding, I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen some dinosaurs wandering about, Diplodocus nibbling at the sky high ferns! There was an abundance of strange plants and wildlife. The Cidada-esque bugs in the trees make the most glorious racket and the birds hardly move as you walk past them!
No one could walk through Mt Eden's affluent streets and not be awed by the way nature has squeezed itself into every available nook and cranny, and how the past seems to have outdone the present!
I bought many useless things at the supermarket, (countdown, in case you were wondering) all things I thought would be edible, but turned out to be too sweet. But also made some incredible discoveries... Wait for it... KIWI BERRIES!! Seriously, they look like dark green grapes, but when you cut into them kiwi inside!! They are also barely bigger than a grape! I will have to buy more, I ate them in one go. Shopping in NZ seems expensive, each item seems to be around NZ$4 which is fine for some things, but ridiculous for others. I left the supermarket weighed down to the point that the heat, my jet lag, my lack of food and sleep, my cough, my GHASTLY pulled muscle made me stop and sit in the shade of a tree to eat my first apple in 4 days! A Braeburn, it was amazing. I dragged myself and my bags back to my room a 20 minute walk away (which I think I made into a 40 minute walk...) and unpacked. I had been up since 4am so it was still pretty early. I heated up some pumpkin soup on the hob (no microwave!) and ate it in the scorching heat of the balcony. I also bought myself an amazing luck ox that seals and has it's own cutlery, so I can store any extra food I cook myself for the next day and take it on excursions!
I walked an equally long and infinitely more confusing walk to a cashpoint and then popped into the music shop (which is almost next door!) and bought myself a Kala travel Ukulele (for those of you who have met Adrian's Ukulele...) which I am THRILLED with, and WILL bring back with me, even if it means bringing it and no other carry on luggage, but I'm trying to find a way around that (suggestions welcome!)
In the late evening I walked up Mt Eden and watched it go dark, I missed sunset by 10 mins so will climb it again in the hope I will catch it next time! I had a poor evening but enough said about that. I also managed to use a pay phone to organise my hotel pick up for today's excursion as my phone wouldn't work. I was panicking but I found a solution and it was a very big deal for me so I feel proud for that. PHOTO TIME!! (I will walt the path to Countdown again ant take some photos, I will also put a video on youtube soon)

My itinerary!

Okay, so this isn't a detailed itinerary, because I don't have everything planned, and I don't want to put a list of the things I'm doing, that might be a bit much! But here are the places I'm staying, along with the dates, and where they are on the map! Thank you all, here we go...