January 27, 2001 Saturday - Paihia to Auckland, New Zealand
Johnno was our bus driver again and I'm greatful for that. He picked us up and then we proceeded to go out of town and had a breakfast break. There was an Irish guy on the bus - he had a Gaelic name - Daithi. He was very friendly to everyone on the bus and his outgoing personality made the bus more enjoyable.
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| Me hugging a tree, Waipoua Kauri Forest Sanctuary, New Zealand |
We stopped at Waipoua Kauri Forest Sanctuary to look at some huge Kauri trees. The Sanctuary was very chilly with lush ferns and mosses glistening from the damp forest. There was a giant tree in the center of the reserve and we marvel at the size of the trunk. We then went to some smaller trees along the road and did some tree hugging. For all the people who called me a tree hugger in the past, I must admit that that was my first time hugging a tree.
We stopped by Kai-Iwi Lake to pick up some other backpackers and toured a little dinky place that had a dolphin museum for a single dolphin that swam ashore back in the 50's or 60's, then continued our way to Auckland.
I booked into the Brown Kiwi again and was able to recognize some people right away as I checked in. Half hour later, Stephen came back - still jobless and homeless and I joined a group of them and played football (soccer). Man, that sport is tiring - the constant running is horrible.
We played for more than an hour and being a goalie was more work than I thought. I worked up a small sweat and then cooled down as we walked back. Alex came back and we went to a local pub to watch the finals of Australian Open woman's tennis. To my surprise, Capriati beat Hingis to claim her first grand slam title. We went back to the hostel and played cards for a while before turning in.
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| Auckland Cityscape, Auckland, New Zealand |
I didn't do much the next day. I did my laundry and Stephen and I cut each other's hair.
I don't even remember what I did that day, except we went to get some food and alcohol and I made a grilled chicken dinner.
;)
;)
