New Zealand North Island Auckland We started our journey around New Zealand in Auckland, the top of the North Island. Known as the biggest city in New Zealand it felt pretty small the Nikki and I. With our tour around the country being pretty swift we only had two nights here. Auckland art gallery - we visited this gallery simply because it was free. And you know what, it was pretty good. With a wide variety of art, we learnt about the native Maori culture through photography and ceramics as well as contemporary Maori artists showcasing their paintings. It was a pretty cool museum with lots of interactive rooms, who doesn't love those? Well worth a visit!
We wonders around the town aimlessly, discovered the harbour which was a rather pretty site with a line of great restaurants along the front. The weather was pretty warm considering we were expecting a chilly encounter. 1885 - We headed out on our last night for a bit of a girls night out with a girl we met in our dorm. Having researched a bit about clubs this seemed our best bet as this was free entry and no strict dress code for our backpacking selves. We also got very lucky in that if you signed up online you got guest list and if you were a girl a free espresso martini. And they were damn good. Drinks weren't too expensive either with cocktails and long drinks being $10. A good dance floor and a great DJ too. Definitely not one for the music snobs but music was good enough to boogie to when drunk. If you wanted a slightly more casual vibe there was the members lounge downstairs which we managed to get into when our feet were a little sore. A great night which ended with Nikki falling over on the pavement and buying chocolate bars on the way home.
Tauranga We couch surfed from Tauranga onwards and we stayed with a lovely Christian youth group called Steiger. Being free we were saving lots of money as we spent a tonne in Fiji. Definitely worth checking out, I highly recommend it as we met some super cool people a long the way. It's a small little town but on our only full day there we trekked all the way up to the top of mount maunganui, with Nikki underestimating how long it would take to walk there it ended up being quite a hefty task. The mount itself was enough. However the views were phenomenal. The steep steep hills made my little legs work hard but looking back at the views of lambs against the blue blue sea it was amazing. Finally getting to the top we were both rather sweaty. Mmmm. A must see though if you ever visit. Also at the bottom of the mount is a gorgeous beach too!
Wellington After a 10 hour coach journey we were pretty happy to get off the bus however the scenery along the way was unbelievable. And after being in Auckland and tauranga where the weather had been surprisingly nice and hot Wellington was not the case. It was so bloody windy! The weather was pretty English. We got to our second couch surfing host, which was with a graphic designer called David. House was massive and the dude was a babe.
The Library - We spent the evening chilling in a bar David recommended called the library. It was very hidden up some stairs and through a very uninviting door that looked as if it was shut. But low and behold as we opened the door it was like I entered a smoking room back in time. Serving only very classy cocktails and posh things we indulged in some delightful alcoholic beverages. It was about $14 for a drink which was a little out of budget but whatever! Te Papa museum - So we obviously googled best free things to do in Wellington (or anywhere we go for that fact) and some other museum kept coming up as like the top 50 museum in the world. Well let me tell you that one was boring, Te Papa was way more fun. Both were free and a 5 minutes walk within each other but if you need to choose Te Papa is the one. The main reason is because it has a colossal squid, and it's pretty amazing. There's so much interactive stuff so you don't get bored. I'm a big kid (small should I say) with a tiny attention span. It was fun. Loved it, would recommend it and it also has an art gallery too!
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