There are many reason why Jon and I originally decided that we should skip New Zealand and go straight to Australia. Most involving money and how we had spent too much of it in South America and the fact that the next leg of our trip would involve a lot more costs and budgeting. We figured we could get to Australia and do a work away to try and recover. However, the week on Easter Island started us thinking that it was crazy to skip New Zealand when we were already half way around the world.
We did not know if we would be able to jump off during our hour lay-over but when we successfully finagled getting our bags checked to Auckland instead of Sydney we knew we had to blow off our connecting flight. Within an hour of leaving the airport in Auckland we had or minds made up that we did the right thing.
Auckland skyline and views of the coast.
After determining that Kiwi Experience, the young party bus, would be our best bet to see as much of the two islands as we could in three weeks for a reasonable cost we headed straight to their office. They honored a special for US citizens I had seen on-line and we were able to get the bus tour of the two islands for $377 each and could take as long as 12 months traveling the country using the bus. We were nervous about their reputation but were impressed with our experience in the office.
Our Kiwi Bus.
Our next hurdle was the fact that we could no longer afford private rooms even with our increased $150 a day budget. Private rooms in hostels typically start at $100 and 6-bed dorms average $35 a person. We checked into a mammoth hostel downtown and lugged our stuff up to our room that we would be sharing with 6 other people. As I opened the door I saw a room crammed with 4 bunk-beds pushed back against the walls with a small space in the middle. In that space was a young gentleman in his underwear slathering lotion all over his body. Jon still cannot get the imagine out of his head or understand why. I was just grateful I was not the old weird person. There was another woman in the room about my age with a bad haircut wearing pleather pants. Welcome to communal living, but hey I was in New Zealand!
Auckland is a gorgeous little city on the ocean where $1.5 million of New Zealand’s $4.2 million inhabitants live. Jon and I took a ferry to a nearby suburb for a fish and chips dinner and a movie and enjoyed city views during daylight as well as after dark. Strangely, we also ran into the two Frenchmen we had gone on the Salt Flat tour with.
Where we stayed, Nomads Auckland, an office building turned into a hostel with a rooftop kitchen and BBQ, spa pool, sauna and bar offering discounted meals. We shared an 8-bed dorm with a communal hallway bathroom (just like in college) for about $22 a night each ($44 total). No breakfast included in New Zealand.
Example of the close quarters in a dorm.
Journey with Christina 