After five months in South America it felt a little surreal to be arriving into an English speaking nation that wasn't home. It took the first full jetlagged day to kick the habit of saying 'gracias' but we were soon picking up the lingo. The signs at the airport were all in English, everything was very coherent, clear and well laid out, yet everyone was speaking with this slight twang in their accent. Not British, not Australian, somewhere in the middle but definitely leaning towards the latter.
We are now approximately 18,800 km from London. This is the furthest either of us have ever been from home, and barring Richard Bransons attempts to put tourists into Outer Space will likely be the furthest we will ever get. Despite being so far from the UK the supermarkets provided some cultural reassurance which had been missing in our journey so far. Marmite, Pataks curry sauce, Uncle Bens rice, and Heinz baked beans, to name but a few. It would be too easy to get carried away with 'luxuries' which we take for granted back home, however the price tags keep you grounded. New Zealand is very expensive. The supermarkets are significantly more expensive for regular branded and local produce than in the UK. With the nearest country of significance being over 2,000km away it does make sense. Coming from the UK and being regularly told that London is one of the most expensive cities in the world it is very difficult mentally to accept the price hikes and even more so with a backpackers budget that is stretched thin over a 12 month period. Chilean and Argentinian supermarkets were about the same as in the UK so it's been a real eye opener over the last five months to appreciate other peoples costs where wages and salaries don't match those of the UK.
After adjusting to the simplicity of the English language around us it was time to hit the town. Auckland is nice enough city, it's certainly pleasant and contains everything you need (including a Westfield), but let's not kid ourselves and pretend that people come to New Zealand to see Auckland. One of the highlights for us was without doubt the skyline. The self entitled 'Sky City' is dominated by the Sky Tower which hosts a revolving restaurant, bar and of course the favoured kiwi past time, a bungee jump. We decided not to take a dive off the top but take a boat trip over to nearby Devenport to admire the views from afar. Devenport is just 15 minutes by passenger ferry across from Auckland harbour and aswell as the stunning view of the city skyline it also has two (small) long dormant volcanoes and some beautiful beaches.
Whilst in town the Volvo Round-The-World yacht race was also launched. We did a couple of the activities down by the harbour including a simulator of the cramped wet conditions they experience for nine months of the year. Needless to say this further reinforced that we are happy with our way of going round the world!
Three days in Auckland to get back to normality and recover from the jetlag was enough as we were starting to get itchy feet to get out on the road and see the rest of New Zealand.
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