New Zealand: Trip of a Lifetime--Auckland

And finally we were on our way to the last place where we were spending two nights before flying home. Auckland! Population: around 1.5 million! 

The drive form Hamilton was rather easy. We passed the temple that is being built and stands tall above the highway.

 

So we checked into our hotel--a really posh place, newly opened--Intercontinental IHG Hotel. We got two rooms again, and again--absolutely free because I was using my free night certificate and points. Score! 

We then quickly walked over to eat lunch at a nearby food court. And when I say food court, you might imagine a mall food court with your Asian, pizza, burgers and hot dogs sort of places. Oh no...this was on another level of FOOD choices. So many delicious offerings and so many healthy options! I am sure these sort of set ups exist in the states, but we need to implement them more often. 

After lunch, life seemed even more exciting, so we kept walking to our Rugby Museum tour. 

To give you a taste of how authentic the tour was--here is a picture. 

Alex was not exactly in the mood for wildness but Robert definitely was. 

Our tour was not long but it was very informative. We all touched the special mauri stone, that is a sacred stone embodying the team's (All Blacks) spiritual power. It is said that the All Blacks Experience is the guardian of the stone when the All Blacks are not playing. 

Robert was an example of reverence:)

The guides encourage all of us to experience the stone touch. 

Well...you got the idea. 

The tour presented the history of the team, its challenges, accomplishments and the unique spirit it possesses. 

One of the coolest things was this "real life" experience of being on the field with the team as they do their Haka. 

The last part was the area where the kids could play some games--kicking the ball, throwing a ball and jumping quickly on the spots that light up. 

Overall, it was a pretty cool unique experience, but I thought it was a bit expensive. 

Next stop was the Auckland Sky Tower! 

Mark and Katya did the weirdest things--a virtual reality ride that takes you from the top of the tower down to the ground. 

Katya enjoyed it, Mark thought it was too tame...as usual. 

The tower is 1076 feet tall, completed in 1997. And it was the tallest free standing structure in Southern Hemisphere till 2022! The Autograph Tower in Jakarta took the first place. 

We walked around a bit the central part of the city and ended up back by our hotel, situated across the street from the pier. 

Next thing you know--we are on a ferry going to Davonport! Just for fun. 

The ride was super fast, with lots of tourists and commuters alike. We had an option to sit outside and enjoy the view or inside and be in a comfort of the warm air and chairs. 

It was a very windy in the town of Davenport, and we made everyone to just walk and walk and walk searching for a beautiful beach spot. This village was so atmospheric and unique. 

We made it to a beach where we spent some time soaking in the end of the day in New Zealand. 

Our traditional selfie.

On the way back, everyone was pretty tired after a full day. The ferry ride was pretty short so we opted to stay inside. 

But we managed to snap a few pretty cool pictures of the Auckland skyline at night. 

Remember when I said our hotel was pretty posh--this is what I mean-haha. Cool curtains like this in the lobby. AND you could walk directly from the hotel to that amazing food court! 

I am going to fast forward a bit, but the day that we went to Piha Beach (the next post), we also managed to visit the Auckland Museum in the afternoon. We were on a tight schedule as the museum was closing, but man, it was a really-really neat place to visit! 

We have visited many museums over the years and this one was truly interesting, encompassing so much history and socio-political issues. We hardly scratched the surface but it is a place I definitely recommend to visit. 

We learned a ton of new information, important facts that are not highlighted in our history lessons about wars. 

The large hall commemorating those who died defending our freedoms was quite breathtaking, affirming a poignant message of how much people have sacrificed so we could have freedom today. 

The final part of the museum had to do with natural disasters! 

They had a room dedicated to all things volcanoes, reminding us it is not about IF the volcano will erupt in New Zealand, but WHEN. 

All these displays of other sorts of disasters were fascinating as well. 

They even had a room imitating what would happen to you if the volcano started erupting, accompanied by earthquakes... it felt real and scary. 

The museum crew was done with the museum. 

We walked out of the museum and took a few last pictures in this gorgeous evening sun. 

Sky Tower in the distance. 

And here we are, saying bye to Auckland and New Zealand. 

I can't find the most impressive words to describe how cool our trip was. It was not always relaxing or slow paced but it was so unique. I loved seeing a new place and meeting so many wonderful people, trying to work hard, enjoy life and make sense of it all. New Zealand nature is so breathtaking, all those beautiful remote corners of the islands will stay in our memory forever. At least once a day we discussed if it would be possible to move to New Zealand--that's how much we loved it. 

Someday we'll come back and do a longer trip! That's the goal. 

Lyana.