22.01.2020 Weary traveller keen to see everything...

After a long journey of 13.5 hours from Dubai to Sydney then a 3 hour flight from Sydney to Auckland, I finally arrived yesterday in New Zealand at 3pm. On top of the travelling time, I had also passed through 2 different time zones so by then my body was completely out of tune with everyone else here. Even sorting out the money to pay my taxi from the airport was difficult, I was so tired. Trying to get my body to match everyone else's time line, I had a quick snooze then headed out to get my bearings. I found a bustling vibrant city which promised lots of things for me to get up to whilst I am here. Thankfully the hotel is pretty central so my fuzzy brain didn't have to work too hard to find my way around.

After a decent night's sleep I felt more like exploring and set off early on a walking tour which would take in most of the City's highlights. I started at the Waharoa (gateway ) in Aotea Square and walked 11.5 kms, most of which was spent in the Auckland Domain, a beautiful green space which was the site of a large volcanic explosion thousands of years ago and is now parkland with superb gardens, sports facilities, Wintergarden and is also the site of the War Memorial Museum. It was great to see green again and the views from the steps of the museum down into the harbour were great.

The museum was so good I spent most of the day there and enjoyed my introduction to the Mauri culture.