(and there was me thinking it was just an orange drink sold by crows!)
So Darwin was fun. Pretty small (pop circa 100,000), hot, sweaty and very laid back. Really did very little, watched some of the second Australia/India Test on TV (I think my 1st tv viewing since leaving home) and Clarke's incredible 329 not out. Explored a bit, relaxed a bit and then took the 4 hour flight back to Sydney.
Arriving at Darwin Airport around 5am...
Sydney was an intentional weekend of doing nothing other than reading a book, under a tree, in the Botanical Gardens (it's a nice feeling to be able to do that without feeling guilty that you should be doing something else, more constructive); reintroducing my clothes to a washing machine after a month of hand washing (which was never that thorough as it was just too hot and sweaty to be able to put much effort in!); and finally turning my attentions to researching, reading about and making a plan for NZ!
The flight from Sydney to Auckland was back with Emirates and, indeed, back on the massive Airbus 380. I know I went on about this plane in the first post but it really is beyond comprehension... Take Off has none of the usual feeling of thrust pushing you down in your seat and is more like a Land Rover pulling away from traffic lights... Just when you think there surely can't be any runway left, it lifts into the sky. Sat at the front you are so far from the engines that the whole experience is really very quiet and relaxing!
Oh, and Oz Border Control confiscated my telescopic fishing rod... Too dangerous to take on board a plane apparently! Ridiculous. It was fine on internal flights. Luckily I'd bought the cheapest one I could find in Perth.
I've been in Auckland for a few days now and it is very pleasant, big enough to be interesting, very friendly and it has a good feel around.
My first NZ beer (notice the chap in the background looking longingly at the cold beer!)
Sounds like they've had a poor start to summer here although not too bad this week... Hovering around 22-24C, pretty cloudy and the odd spot of light rain. I guess I'd better get used to a bit more rain over here.
The whole city seems very music orientated and there are buskers dotted all over. All are very good and seem to be embraced as part of town. From heavy rock guitarists to, saxophonists, violinists, and everything in between.
The busking-stars of yesterday had to be this very dear, sweet couple who I had a chat with...
I've seen two or three Maori guys around who are bigger than WF! (and I don't mean fat)... Man-Mountains.
Including Sydney it's been nearly a week of dorm-bed-living which is enough. More than enough! So tomorrow I'm off to pick up the next camper to start some proper exploring.
It's peak season here and I left this bit of planning a bit too late. Consequently pretty well anything even remotely in my price range is already booked. To balance out the 4WD camper in WA I'm heading 'below budget' to a much more basic vehicle. The only downside is that I need to fly to Christchurch to collect it (not actually much of a drama as it's £50 and 45 minutes on JetStar). From there I'll start a circumnavigation! So back to an airport in the morning for something like my 10th flight so far (distorted a bit by visiting Tasmania and Kangaroo Island which account for four).
Well, as you can see: a reasonably unexciting week or so. Hope all well with you and I'll leave you with a Japanese Family Fishing Party at Auckland Harbour...
(not sure why)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Quay St,Auckland,New Zealand
No comments:
Post a Comment