I'm baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!

Guess who spent a fabufantasticulous weekend in Auckland??? Moi moi moi!!! And it was the best weekend I've had in a long time!! I was still buzzing yesterday, even though I realised that my Shuffle had enough of me and crept out of my bag on the plane to find itself a new owner. As suggested by the cabin crew I checked my front seat pocket but not the floor! Ah well.. I'm just grateful it's not my camera that I lost, I'd be devastated. Anyway... I digress.

The reason why I was going there was to catch some more rugby action, the second episode in the Australia v New Zealand saga. Just before the game, the men in black graced the fans with this:

Oooooh scary...The Wallabies did not repeat last week's performance and the All Blacks won 39-10. Both teams will be travelling soon to South Africa - I'm not :( - to play against the Boks, then will meet again in September in Brissie and we'll find out who will be crowned kings of the Southern Hemisphere.

Now .. the touristy stuff. Auckland is called the City of Sails - they have more boats per capita that anywhere in the world - well.. I'm tempted to call it the city of rainbows, I have never seen so many in my life! Not that I mind, there's something magical about rainbows... I like them, especially when they add a wee bit of colour to a very grey sky.

On Sunday I caught a ferry to Waiheke Island, 40 minutes from Auckland, then on a bus for a guided tour. 12 000 souls, a handful of tourists, beautiful sights and even a few wineries! The island offers the best conditions to produce wine similar the Bordeaux ones. I'm no expert in wine and I prefer white so I can't confirm these facts!

Palm Beach, Waiheke Island

And the locals have a wicked sense of humour:

Far behind? You would not think so when you know that the island has its own online encyclopedia. How's that, eh??

Then back on the ferry and to the city to go up the Sky Tower, the tallest tower in the Southern Hemisphere at 328 metres high and 360 degree views of the city, the burbs and the bay, either from the safety of the observation deck or if you feel adventurous/slightly crazy/totally insane (delete as appropriate) you can walk around or even jump from the tower - have a look at the photo on the right you will see someone dangling from the tower:

You would have to pay me bucketloads of cash to do this and I certainly would not let go of the cable!! After a bit of shopping it's back to the hostel to meet up with my British roommate, we had agreed earlier we'd go up the tower to see the city at night. We did just that with a couple of glasses of white wine at the bar!

Monday: on the ferry again, to Rangitoto Island (Auckland's iconic landmark) a volcanic island formed around 600 years ago. Relax..... the volcano is inactive.. or so they say!

It feels a bit strange walking the rocky road to the summit and it is amazing to see the vegetation that grew on the island.





When you reach the top, this is what you see

Aaaaaaaaaah... priceless! Well after that trek it was to time to get back on the ferry, grab my baG from the hostel and head to the airport to catch the flight back to Sydney. There's heaps more to do in Auckland, so I'm afraid I will have to go back!