Auckland

Paul and I took a weekend trip over to New Zealand - for our friends David and Kathryn’s wedding. This provoked a few confused reactions at the immigration desks in both Australia and New Zealand. “So, you’re going to Auckland for two days…?”

Auckland showed us the best example of UK-style weather we have seen yet on this trip - the skies were grey and there was intermittent rain for the whole of the time we were there. Just before we arrived at the airport, the skies cleared and gave us just a glimpse of what to expect from New Zealand when we return in February. Auckland appeared to be in a lovely location, with bays, seas and islands all around.

Unfortunately, as we were on such a short trip, we did not get a chance to look around these nice areas, and only had time to visit the city centre. This was a bit disappointing - many areas of the city were run down and in need of regeneration. The shopping streets though were bustling and did give an impression of a lively city. We stayed in one of the suburbs just south of the city, and this was a pleasant area. Much like Perth and Adelaide, the majority of the population live in the suburbs and these had their own shops and personalities. Unlike Perth though, the public transport system was not that extensive, and it felt like you could not live in Auckland without a car. I’ll be able to add more analysis on Auckland later, as we will be there a further two times.

There are some lovely areas in Auckland - one of these was the venue for the wedding reception, One Tree Hill.