New Zealand - Auckland - Meh vs. 'O' for Awesome

Let me tell you straight off, buses in New Zealand are not as good as buses in South America. On my eleven hour overnight ride from Wellington to Auckland, my seat reclined exactly 3 cm. 3 useless cm. Thank goodness I brought my travel pillow and blanket on board, which kept me warm, if not comfortable.

Eleven hours of tossing and turning later (did I mention the bus stopped every half hour to pick more people up or drop them off in the middle of the night?), we pulled into Auckland bus terminal at about 6:30am. Malheureusement, my hostel's reception desk didn't even open until 8:30am, so I had to kill time having the most leisurely cup of tea of my life at the station. Luckily I had a book to read, or it would have seemed interminable. Better yet, when I arrived at the hostel, my room was mercifully empty so I could crawl right in and crash on the bed without having to wait for the 1pm check in. Whew.

I woke up several hours later ready to explore a bit. And I have to say that after a day and a half of wandering around Auckland, I don't love it. There is the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere. But after seeing the CN Tower... it kind of pales in comparison, alas. And the whole vibe of Auckland is just... bland. Most of the activities they advertise here are all *outside* the city, so that is pretty telling. Now I know I can't love every place I get to on this trip, but Auckland is the first time I've been really unimpressed.

Luckily, the rest of New Zealand more than makes up for Auckland's blandness, so I head off to Australia tomorrow being able to advise other travellers to not judge NZ by Auckland. The concise summary being: Auckland = meh; NZ = 'o' for awesome!