crash cours auckland/new zealand

so i got in this morning at 4:30 (ahead of schedule) and have traversed the city and taken a three hour nap. it is time for dinner soon with matt and laura and then more sleep before back at the airport tomorrow morning.

what a lovely flight over. it really was only 12 hours, they served dinner and breakfast, more than enough lavatories, comfy seats (not quite enough leg room, but i wasn't too cramped), and those screens on the back of your seat so you can watch and listen to whatever you want whenever you want - and there were tons of choices. (and you can look around and watch snippets of what everyone else is watching without hearing it though) i read some of my animal self medicating book (thanks kell - it IS interesting), watched pirates of the caribbean III (yes mel - go rent it soon), took a 5ish hour nap, watched two episodes of LIVING PLANET (i was supper excited about that option) - shallow seas and jungles (crazy scene of chimps killing and eating each other after i watched some fur seals eat some penguins), took another little nap and then landed. i didn't even notice we were landing bc i didn't see any city lights and bc i was chatting with my UK neighbors about where they were going.

Customs and then biohazard inspection. it's called something else, but i cant remember. but they sprayed down my shoes and then took my tent away for 15 min to do something to it - even though i assured them i had only camped in it for 3 days in my backyard. nope needed to be bioinspected. I TOTALLY APPRECIATE THIS. has anyone read some of the stuff lately about how awful bioinvasion is? i read a somewhat boring book about it and i assure you if i ever see a brown tree snake i will bash its head in.

miss laura came to get me and we chatted over breakfast and then headed into auckland. she lives in a suburb called remuera - prnounced rem-you-air-a. i'm learning. she had to work a short bit so i explored a little of downtown. i walked down queen street (tourist/shopping central), visited the sky tower and had lunch while watching my first experience with all the X-TREME crazy people and things in NZ - you can free fall from near the top. the tower has plenty of 'glass' panels so you can see what you are walking on - and even the elevator had clear bits to stare the long way down. i had a guy take a pic of me at the top - but the pic i took of myself josh-style is better. :)

i then took the city circuit bus all the way around and was caught laughing at some tourists filming from the bus by my seatmate a lovely kiwi who then gave me an informal your of the city, passed PIE MANIA that was mentioned in my book and had to stop. also bc sarah ann and i had discussed meat pies and that i needed to try one. there were way more meat pies than dessert fruit pies to choose from. i did and it was FAB. i had nz lamb and cheese and some sauce and it was quite good. and the amazing thing was i ate it while walking around and did not splatter it all over myself.

the most interesting thing i did today was cross the street. seriously. all the crosswalk men light up green at the same time and then people HUSTLE their way across the street. and they go diagonally too. so massive hoards of people (bc when they all go at once they look like a hoard) all mobbing the intersection at one time. crazy. and some of the green men are actually walking - animated - not just the white stationary man we get in the states. i did a double take when i first noticed.