Auckland

We have now arrived in Auckland, and things couldn't be better! Well, aside from Tinas allergic attack (don't worry, she's fine now ...). The flight from Santiago （12 hours）was easier than expected. We left at 10 PM and after a meal and a movie it wasn't that hard to get to sleep (for me). Tina had to struggle a little bit more. A couple of days earlier, she had got this small rashes. looking like small mosquito bites. The itched a little but it wasn't that bad ... But during the last afternoon in Santiago and especially during the flight to New Zealand, the rashes really got more aggressive and we're really itching like crazy! So at 4 AM (local time) we landed in Auckland and took the first cab to the Auckland city hospital. They advised us to go to another hospital since they could see/treat her right away and since the other hospital was less expensive. Another 10 minutes in taxi and we finally got to see a (quite sleepy) doctor, who told us that it probably was a allergic reaction to something . We got a prescription for medicine, but the pharmacies didn't open for another two hours ... So Tina had to bare with it a little bit longer ... We grabbed an early (6 AM) breakfast at a McDonalds cafe (second this day, surprisingly good)! We then went down to the city center and picked up the medicine. It didn't worked right away but during the day it finally (and thankfully) started to get better ...

At 8 AM, we left our backpacks at the hostal, and wondered down to the harbor ... We wanted to check out the time schedules for the ferries out the islands in the Auckland bay. We planned to go there the next day. But we wanted to visit two islands; Rangitoto (volcano) and Waiheke (beaches, wineries and art exhibitions). We suddenly realized realized that it would more or less be impossible to the both islands in one day. Therefore, we took a really fast and spontaneous decision to catch the next ferry to Rangitoto (leaving in 3 minutes). We made it ... =) and well on the island we started to walk up to the summit/crater (1 hour). Compared to the previous walks, this was really a walk in the park (literary as well, we we're walking through a thick forest=)! The weather was great and the view from the summit was fantastic (especially the view of the city skyline)!!! We went back to the city center and grabbed a fantastic lunch at an Asian food court! We spent the afternoon in Auckland domains, a huge, calm, green park in the middle of Auckland. We almost fell asleep lying down in the grass (for us, it still felt like 3 AM in the morning).

The next day (yesterday), we took an early ferry out to Waiheke. After a nice breakfast on a bench next the ocean, we walked up the biggest town on the island, Oneroa. Instead of walking on the road, we (of course) took the scenic, lowland route through a calm forest (spotting some odd birds on the way). The tourist info advised us to visit a nearby vineyard called Mudrick. It was located on a small hill, and was only a 20 minutes stroll away. When approaching the vineyard, we were amazed by the great views and the stunning location!!! It looked like a small paradise! And of course, the had plenty of weddings all year long. =) We tried six of their wines (great whites, not so good reds) and had a rest to enjoy the fantastic scenery ... For a bit too long, sadly ... We realized that we were about to miss the buss to the next winery, and ran back down to the bus stop in Oneroa (Tina even enjoyed it, too much energy ...). More wine tasting on the next winery (Goldwater Estate) and then we continued to on of the great beaches on the island - Onetangi. It was so beautiful and calm (we're almost alone). An hour on the beach was just what we needed! The water wasn't too bad either, a bit cold at first but really clear and turquoise.

At the evening, we had reserved a table at the Orbit restaurant, situated 192 m above the ground in the Auckland Skytower (the tallest building on the southern hemisphere, 300 something). From there, you had a fantastic 360 degree view (the restaurant rotated) over Auckland and its surroundings. And the food was probably the best we have had on this trip so far. I had a steak and some mash potatoes and Tina has a red snapper (fish) and veggies. For the dessert, we tried the Swedish cheese cake with figs and ice cream. It was almost like the Swedish cheese cake we get at home (think Froedinge), but not quite. Still great!!! All in all, a(nother) great day on our trip. Life can be harder ... =)

Today, we'll pick up hour camper van and start our trip around the North and South islands of New Zealand. We can't wait to get started!!! Take care, all!

Ciao!