auckland, briefly

this will be brief because i'm in an internet cafe and don't have a ton of time to write:

auckland has been ... lonely most of all. people at the hostel i am staying at are not very friendly, so i mostly wander around the city by myself and come back to make dinner and read until bed.

for the most part, i have enjoyed auckland though. in a strange way, it reminds me of boston - small enough to walk around, similar feel to it. the difference of course being that people drive on the wrong side of the road and everyone has an accent (or maybe that's me now?). there is so much green space here i can't believe it: parks every few blocks at least and lots of "bush" area - quite loud too, they seem to vibrate with insect/cricket/cicada noise. the parks are by far my favorite part of auckland though.

this past weekend i travelled to tutukaka (three hours north of auckland) to complete my certification dives. it was beautiful and there were some great people diving with us (not certification dives, just there to enjoy it), so it was nice to get away from the general un-friendliness of auckland. this country is extraordinarily beautiful; when i get my computer hooked up to the internet, i will be sure to post pictures.

highlights in auckland so far include: the viaduct harbor, the auckland museum (three floors dedicated to new zealand's history: maori, natural, and war), the auckland art gallery (kiwi artists, primarily so a good change), sky tower, aotea square, the auckland domain (massive park), the coast-to-coast walkway (16 km from the north to south harbor) which included two volcanic cones - one tree hill and mt. eden. the volcanic cones are spectacular. there are ... eight (?) ... in auckland and you can climb straight up these two. the kiwis obviously don't believe in winding paths - the paths to climb the cones go straight (literally straight) up. but from the top you get beautiful 360 panoramic views of the city.

so it's been a good time here; i'm glad i came early to see the city. tomorrow i'm going to the north shore to a place called devonport to enjoy the cafes, shops, and beaches.

i leave auckland on friday to travel to a national park somewhere on the north island for my first orientation and then south to dunedin.

[sorry so brief and condensed ... internet cafe time is short. but i am alive and well]