Yesterday we arrived right on time to Auckland airport. Our trip took us through Vancouver where we were all exhausted from it being the middle of the night and running on no sleep. That was the worst part of the flights, though. Travel time from our driveway to Auckland Airport touchdown was 27 hours. We were in the air for 19 hours total, but we slept through a good chunk of the second flight, and otherwise had screen entertainment that kept the children independently occupied.
We all slept well enough that when we landed in Auckland we felt good enough to visit the sky tower. I remembered the Sky Tower, saw the harbor bridge, from which I bungy jumped 20 years ago. When we came down from the tower we stopped for lunch at a place called Grill and Chill - my children are now obsessed with this random hole-in-the-way kebab place and insist on going back there on our last day when we're back in Auckland.
We were ready to leave, but the traffic to Hamilton was horrendous. We decided that instead of spending and extra hour on the highway we would climb Mt. Eden. That turned out to be a great choice! The kids had SPACE to run. It occurred to me that we had been on a plane, tram, car, tower, restaurant, etc. For the last 2 days straight. They needed wide open space!
Mt. Eden is an extinct volcano in the middle of Auckland. Apparently there are 60 such hills around the greater Auckland area, many of them public parks. This was a nearly perfect cone with a deep grass-filled center. Pictures do not get the scale of it; I tried to get a selfie with the volcano, but he was too big to fit. The path went the whole way around the rim with several platforms to enjoy the view. Luke found his favorite platform and announced that it was the best place he had been on earth - the sounds of distant traffic mixed with birds and the wind was "so peaceful." He melts my heart sometimes.
The traffic had somewhat thinned by the time we were ready to make our way south, so we made our way to Hamilton.
I remember a country, winding road to get to Hamilton. I haven't found it. There is a highway now. I suppose this makes sense to me. Tourism requires a better route south from Auckland to get to things like the Waitomo caves and Mata Mata (Hobbiton), but I'm a little heartbroken at the modernization. My nostalgia for the wildness has gone unfulfilled.
We all slept well enough that when we landed in Auckland we felt good enough to visit the sky tower. I remembered the Sky Tower, saw the harbor bridge, from which I bungy jumped 20 years ago. When we came down from the tower we stopped for lunch at a place called Grill and Chill - my children are now obsessed with this random hole-in-the-way kebab place and insist on going back there on our last day when we're back in Auckland.
We were ready to leave, but the traffic to Hamilton was horrendous. We decided that instead of spending and extra hour on the highway we would climb Mt. Eden. That turned out to be a great choice! The kids had SPACE to run. It occurred to me that we had been on a plane, tram, car, tower, restaurant, etc. For the last 2 days straight. They needed wide open space!
Mt. Eden is an extinct volcano in the middle of Auckland. Apparently there are 60 such hills around the greater Auckland area, many of them public parks. This was a nearly perfect cone with a deep grass-filled center. Pictures do not get the scale of it; I tried to get a selfie with the volcano, but he was too big to fit. The path went the whole way around the rim with several platforms to enjoy the view. Luke found his favorite platform and announced that it was the best place he had been on earth - the sounds of distant traffic mixed with birds and the wind was "so peaceful." He melts my heart sometimes.
The traffic had somewhat thinned by the time we were ready to make our way south, so we made our way to Hamilton.
I remember a country, winding road to get to Hamilton. I haven't found it. There is a highway now. I suppose this makes sense to me. Tourism requires a better route south from Auckland to get to things like the Waitomo caves and Mata Mata (Hobbiton), but I'm a little heartbroken at the modernization. My nostalgia for the wildness has gone unfulfilled.