Back in Auckland

May 4

We got up early and returned the rental car then were shuttled to the nearby airport. We ate our scones we purchased yesterday and grabbed an Americano at the airport while waiting to fly back to Auckland where we started this journey. Before leaving the hostel we stood on the deck that overlooked the lake. There was a thin line of clouds above the lake and below the mountain tops. The sky had a rosy hue. It was just plain lovely. We flew into Auckland and it was raining cats and dogs. I don’t know how the shuttle driver could see the road. It reminded me of the downpours we used to get in South Carolina where you had to pull off the road and wait it out.

We arrived at our hostel and discovered the office was closed for lunch from 12-2. It was 12:30. We decided to call and fortunately a staff member appeared to let us store our luggage until they reopened. We took off to get some lunch around the corner on Ponsonby, a nifty little neighborhood. We walked around afterwards to kill some time and found a great shop with quirky old stuff. The shop was appropriately called Flotsam and Jetsam. I found some cute little glass milk bottles and bought two. We checked into the hostel and settled into our room as it was still pouring rain. We read and napped and caught up on email. Around 7:00 we went out for an Indian dinner and ate dosas which we hadn’t had since we were in Sri Lanka last fall. We briefly walked some after dinner but the rain started up and we didn’t want to get caught in a downpour so headed home.

May 5

We woke up late at 8:45. Guess we are switching gears and slowing down as we wind up our adventure. We showered and walked to a nearby bakery and brought scones back to the hostel and made some coffee to go with our goodies. We caught a bus to downtown and then took a 10 minute ferry ride to Devonport, a charming town that is a suburb of Auckland that was established in the mid 1800’s. We walked around town and visited a craft fair that was very much hobby crafts. Ron found a super hero cape for one of our grandsons. The woman said she had made one for her son then started making them to sell. We browsed through a bookstore and a gallery. It started to rain about the time we wanted to have our picnic so we went back to the wharf shopping arcade just was the sky unzipped and a terrific rain storm ensued. We sat inside on a bench and made our sandwiches and watched the rain, thankful to be inside.

About the time we finished our lunch the rain stopped so we went back and walked along the waterfront and found a terrific art gallery with wonderful traditional wood carvings with a contemporary interpretation. There was some beautiful delicate ceramics and ultra realistic paintings of flora and NZ birds. We got back on the ferry and went to a movie as the rain was starting up again. We came home afterwards and went out for a Thai dinner.

I have failed to mention that we have never seen air pollution here, and only once saw litter. Rarely have we heard anyone honk their horns while driving nor have we heard anyone screeching around corners or slamming on their brakes. Perhaps this is because we have spent most of our time is the rural areas or in very small towns.

May 6

We woke up to a very rainy day and decided to stay close by today instead of going downtown. We got our scones and visited with other people in the hostel while having our breakfast. We gave away the last of our picnic cheese and salami. We packed our bags as we had to check out by10:00. After we stored our bags we walked around Ponsonby, exploring shops. It continued to pour so around noon we sat in the living room of the hostel and read while we dried out. We decided to have an Argentine lunch. There was a great BBQ place a few blocks away. So back into the rain we went. When we got back to the hostel, I changed my shoes and socks as my feet had gotten wet. Afterwards we came back and read until our shuttle pick up at 4:30.

Our flight home was uneventful fortunately. We had a terrific time and saw so many wonderful sights. All in all it was another grand adventure for us.