Dan Park's Homepage

Turns out that internet access may be readily available most places that we’ll be going to… and in order to keep my memories straight, I figure I’ll just try to jot everything that I remember down each night so that they don’t become distant and hazy memories by the time we get back home and have a chance to sort and organize the thousands of pictures that we’ll probably end up taking. I think the idea might also be to try to organize along the way… but that might prove to be more than I can manage.

For starters, how is it already day 3?? After what seems like only yesterday that we departed for our trip… the fact that we crossed the international date line to arrive in Auckland has meant that we completely lost day 2 (May 26th – Memorial Day back in the USA) and arrived on the 3rd day of our trip.

The flight to New Zealand onboard Qantas 26 was relatively uneventful. We left a bit late, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise, and arrived in Auckland around 6AM local time. One thing that was pretty neat was that we were provided special attention on the flight due to my OneWorld Emerald status. =) Too bad it only meant getting nicer headphones and above-average service on the flight (no cabin upgrades – boo). =)

One additional comment before I start jotting down activities and itineraries… Unfortunately, after leaving my job on May 9th, I am no longer in possession of a laptop (had to turn mine in!). As a result, I’m working on my brother’s Mac… which I don’t know how to use (most of my Windows hot-keys are worthless!) and I’m struggling to be efficient on this thing… I’ll have to get my brother to explain how to work it when he’s awake next time…

A quick rundown of today’s activities (more for my records than for anything else… pictures may follow in future updates… still trying to figure out how to use this computer!):

- Arrived in Auckland around 6AM.

- Withdrew some cash (New Zealand dollars) from an ATM.

- Spent some cash to take the Airport Express shuttle from the airport to the Central Business District.

- Walked from the bus station to our hostel (Freeman’s on Wellington Road) to drop off our things.

- Walked back to the CBD to get information from the i-SITE Visitor Information Center.

- Went up to the 328 meter tall Sky Tower (the tallest in the Southern Hemisphere) to get panoramic views of the City of Sails.

- Walked around the CBD to get acquainted with the area.

- Debated walking to the Auckland Museum but ended up taking the LINK bus instead.

- Spent a few hours at the Auckland Museum.

- Trekked up to Mt. Eden from the Auckland Museum. Awesome 360 degree views of Auckland from the peak around dusk.

Tomorrow should definitely be an interesting and adventurous day as we take our tiny rental car for a spin around the city. =)

It’s been a ridiculously long day and I think it’s time to sleep… g’nite!

[edit 30 May 2008: added a few pics =)]