And the journey continues...

I'm in Auckland, New Zealand!

After a fabulous dinner last night at Darling Harbour (one of the few very touristy sites I hadn't been to or driven), I said goodbye to my wonderful hosts, Anne and Tom, and to my home base of 3 weeks, Sydney.

Before the sun was out this morning I was en route to my next destination. Auckland is cold. Much colder than anywhere I went in Australia, which is expected, but, like the heat in Southeast Asia, I can't not mention it either. One thing that I'm doing and is a first, is staying in a hostel. I had planned on doing much more of it along the way but generous hosts in Australia and cheap hotels in Asia kept that from happening. Hostels are definitely a fun way to meet people. As soon as I arrived in my dorm, one of my roommates, Selena, who hails from England and is beginning her second day of a five month solo adventure was waking up from a nap. We had a nice little chat and then ventured aimlessly into the city together to have a look. We ended up at the famous Sky Tower, which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere and a somewhat cheesy tourist attraction but boasts views of 60-80 kilometers in every direction, so why not?



From the bottom. The elevators up take 40 seconds and go at about 17 kilometers per hour, which is pretty fast when you are moving vertically.



Me at the top. The harbor is behind me.



We got a drink at the bar on the top and watched the sun go down around
the whole city.



I wish this came out better, but watching rush hour from above sure is better than sitting in it!

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