life in auckland - pt.2

26th March - 12th April 2012

Auckland, New Zealand

                  On the 2nd April, after a relaxing week over in Birkenhead with the Woods, I jumped on the 974 bus for the last time and headed into the centre of town where I would be spending the rest of my time in Auckland holed up at the Cosy Kiwi hostel with Mark and Joe. As a result of their long stay at the Cosy Kiwi they were paying off part of their accommodation by cleaning the kitchen and toilets a couple of times a week meaning they were considered staff and were therefore sleeping in the staff dormitory. The day before I made the move over to the hostel, Joe had headed off with his milkman crew for some work trip down to the city of Gisborne which lies on the East coast of New Zealand's North island. As a result of this, the bed that he had been using in the staff dorm was now free and because I knew Mark I was allowed to move in with him and the rest of the staff at the hostel which would prove to be a mixed blessing. To explain, the Cosy Kiwi, like many hostels around the world, is a dwelling that is heavily populated by an army of alcoholic Irish, English and Scottish folks and every night would see the happy-go-lucky individuals there romp about until all hours of the morning drinking goon (more on this in a second) until they were so blind drunk that they would pass out on the nearest horizontal surface which was usually the floor. The peace and  decent nights sleep that I had become accustomed to over the harbour was therefore about to firmly go out the window and the only real option was to get stuck in myself; a tactic I employed a couple of times near the end of my stay at Cozy which saw goon reduce me to me knees, figuratively and literally. Now goon for the uninitiated is packaged wine that comes in a box and it seems that its only redeeming feature is that it's a very economical way of getting completely "Gazeboe'd" and as a result it has become the staple drink for all who stayed at the Cozy Kiwi hostel and indeed many budget travellers in this part of the world. Goon is lethal and has achieved great infamy in New Zealand and Australia for its debiliating physical and mental side effects on all who stray to the bottom of the box. I also learnt that a useful feature of the goon packaging is that because the wine comes in a plastic bladder within the cardboard box, when all the wine is finished and you've "become a goon" (hence the name), the plastic bag can be inflated and used as a pillow for you to sleep it off on wherever you land; so effectively goon puts you to sleep and then tucks you in! The Cozy Kiwi hostel itself was housed on the 5th floor of a building that was situated just off Queen Street; slap bang in the middle of town and with a comfortable lounge area whose red couches could easily suck anyone in for a few hours at a time while a movie or South Park was on, a decent sized kitchen and outdoor terrace it was an easy place to stop and relax before I headed off to embark upon the inevitably hectic final leg of the trip over in South America. As many of the people that were staying in the hostel were working in Auckland for quite some time, a surreal family had formed from a motley bunch of  international characters and it was interesting to stick about there observing the dynamics between them all as normally I spend a maximum of three or four days in any particular hostel. You had Wendy, the owner/pseudo mother figure, who attempted to keep her alcoholic children in check and would occasionally go off on a rant about something that had been done wrong in the hostel by her unruly traveller-employees. Her children who constituted nearly everyone else in the hostel were a lovely bunch of people who all brought something different to the table - normally another bag of goon - and they all made my time spent in the Cozy Kiwi a lot of fun, even if they would wake me up when blind drunk at 5am...every night. After a few days, Joe returned from his work trip and I moved into one of the regular dormitories where it was actually a lot quieter and the final nights in Auckland rolled out until I caught my plane to Argentina on the 12th April to enter the final leg of this mammoth trip...Buenos Aires to follow!

The start of the gruelling 16km coast to coast walkway.

                    To move the second part of this post into more productive territory, I did actually do more in Auckland than indulge in a few goon episodes and so on the 6th April after hearing about a 16km coast to coast walkway which starts down by the viaduct harbour and snakes its way over to Onehunga, via a few key Auckland sights, I set off up Queens street to embark on a mammoth eight hour amble. On one of my first days in Auckland I had stopped by the tourist office in the centre of town and picked up a map which plotted the route over to Onehunga and so with some sandwiches in my backpack for lunch and the map in my hand, I peeled myself away from the red couches of Cosy Kiwi and walked through my favourite daytime hang out spot - Albert Park - to the vast green expanse of the Auckland Domain. This large 75 hectare park has been developed around the cone of an extinct volcano and includes the cities grand-looking Museum (which I checked out with Joe a week prior; filled with interesting Maori exhibits), numerous tree lined walkways, a cricket field, relaxed winter gardens, a whole range of shaded picnic spots and a legion of ducks that dwell in the park´s pleasant natural springs.

The Auckland Museum

Walking through the Cherry Grove, I followed the Domain pathway through the native bush on the park´s Eastern side until I reached Park street at its South-Western corner. I noticed early on that the walkway had small "Coast to Coast" signs dotted along the route, sometimes obvious, sometimes not, as they were littered in very sporadic but key locations to form an interesting breadcrumb-like trail. The map is essential though and I would not recommend anyone setting off without it as following the signs alone would be futile.

Coast to Coast.

Heading further south the next landmark that I came across was Maungawhau, also known as Mt. Eden, which holds the title of Auckland´s tallest volcano and soars to a grand old height of 196 metres. This gentle giant gazes over the Auckland isthmus and a gentle hike up to it´s summit offered up some fantastic panoramic views of the whole area. The slopes of Maungawhau were once populated by Maori people who turned the volcano into a fort during pre-European times and traces could still be seen by the terraces and pits that the Maori people had excavated during their occupation of the hill for farming and defensive purposes. Strolling down the other side of Mt. Eden, I made a few turns down backalleyways and cut through the Auckland College of Education which brought me to Melville Park; a large expansive grass field that is now home to the Auckland women´s hocky and cricket clubs. The sun was roaring in the sky and following my descent from Mt. Eden it had increased it intensity so I sat for a drink and to cool down in the welcoming shade of a large oak tree while some local kids threw a frisbee around and dog walkers trapised on by.

The View from Mt. Eden.

Catching my breath I headed on down the suburban Kimberley road where I was greeted by a magnificently extravagant fountain - a homage to Sir John Logan Campbell: one of New Zealand´s first European settlers - that signifies the beginning of Cornwall Park. I then followed Purri Drive down a narrow strip of park which finally expanded out at Pohutukawa Drive to join the vast 220 hectare One Tree Estate that is dominated by the striking obelisk which stands defiantly upon One Tree Hill. Due to the glorious sunshine that covered the park in a blanket of golden rays, One Tree Hill was packed with picnic wielding families, walkers, students and dog walkers who were all relaxing at the feet of the largest and most complex volcanic cone fortress in the southern hemisphere. Maungakiekie or One Tree Hill has hundreds of terraces, food store pits, defensive ditches and banks that for centuries supported a population of 5000 people. A mere 13 metres shorter than it´s neighbour Mt. Eden, Maungakiekie has three craters and a lava field that extends all the way to the Manukau foreshore. A steep, exhausting and very sweaty climb followed as I was eager to see what the views were like from up by the Obelisk and the effort was definitely worth it as due to perfect weather and very good visibility, I could see for miles around from the windswept summit. I took a video so you could share the views. Biggle Vision #4 can be seen here: You can see Mt. Eden just in front of the Auckland skyline and the final island I sweep to is Rangitoto Island.

The final leg of the mammoth walk skirted the edge of Jellicoe park until I finally hit the beach at Onehunga after an epic five hour journey where I relaxed by the beach just as the sun was setting behind the line of trees that skirted the small waterfront. Was a great day but my legs were in quite some pain for many days afterwards, especially as I decided to walk all the back to Auckland arriving at the Cosy Kiwi under cover of darkness. Nine hours and 30km. Done.

x

The END!