Easter weekend

Friday morning I was up bright and early to catch the Overlander train to Auckland. It was scheduled to leave at 9:45am but you have to be there at least 20 minutes early to check in. Once at the station it was obvious that there was nowhere to check in but there were baggage labels with various destination stations on them so I selected the Auckland one and waited with quite a few other passengers for the train to arrive. Ten minutes before it was due they announced that it was 15 minutes late! Just like British Rail! However, once the train arrived the similarity ended. We checked in with train staff, had our luggage put in the baggage car and were allocated our seat. I was disappointed to find that I had an aisle seat - fortunately there was no passenger in the window seat so I moved over. The journey goes right up the North Island through the mountains of the National Park. We stopped at Okahune for a lunch stop of half an hour then a bit further up the line we met the southbound train, the crews swapped over and we continued on up to Auckland. By the time we got there it was 8pm and we were over half an hour late. It had been a very long day and I was tired and hungry. Fortunately it was only a 5 minute walk from the station to the hotel and I was soon ensconced in my 17th floor room.

On Saturday morning I walked down to the harbour looking for the information office and ended up taking a boat trip out into the harbour and to Waiheke Island. I had a coach tour round the island and walked some of it before returning to downtown Auckland. The island was very nice - part of the city but a whole world away. I also walked round some of downtown Auckland before returning to my room for tea etc.

Sunday morning I decided to do the Coast to Coast walk - 17kms walking from Waitemata Harbour on one side of the peninsula to Manukau Harbour on the other side. A lot of the walk was through city streets but there was also some very nice parks too and some very steep climbs - not least of which was up Mount Eden, the highest of 5 volcanic peaks which make up the city. Unfortunately the end point was in a less than pleasant area and was a disappointment after I had walked so far. Still, I found the bus station and made my way back downtown. Once there I did a quick visit to the Sky Tower - just in time to see someone do a jump from it - insane! and to another city park before it was time for tea again. This time I had to pack up my belongings again for the train journey home again today. I had to be up at 6am for the train back at 7:25am. Journey back was very pleasant though and we arrived on time too! So this evening I was back at 5:30pm and now it is time to prepare for work again!