Roadtrip: It Ends... (sniff!)

Had a bit of a slow start today, Mike sorted the last of his bags out and we chilled with CNN and a cuppa – it’s getting weirder; they’d better sort this election stuff out soon. Mike checked out and we went for a wander down the road to kill a bit of time, there wasn’t much to see but it got us out in the fresh air. We then had our final meal together – lunch in Wendy’s! I thought it was quite fitting that our last meal together was at the same place that we had our first meal on his arrival in Auckland!

Then came the time when Mike had to head off, so it was very sad saying goodbye – I have done this quite a few times now with various travelling companions. He drove off in the lovely silver Nissan Sunny and I went back to the hostel. I was determined not to get down, so the other day had organised to meet up this evening with one of my friends from the Stray bus who was now in Auckland – I knew it would cheer me up. I spent some of the afternoon in the tv lounge, chatting to the people in there and watching tv with them; Neighbours came on, so that was good for keeping my spirits up!

I then decided to be proactive so went and unpacked my bag completely. As soon as I had done so, I totally regretted it! Mike had brought my running gear from the UK for me and despite having given him some bits to take back, I had great trouble getting everything back in the bag, so I gave up and just rolled everything up, ready to be packed. I got ready to go out and called a cab to take me to the Wharf.

Lukas met me at the Wharf and we went to a bar and had a couple of drinks, catching up on one another’s travelling stories from since we last saw each other in Paihia. It was really good seeing a friendly face and it was his final night in NZ before heading home! I couldn’t believe I hadn’t been to the Wharf before – it looked quite cool and possibly more interesting than some of the rest of the bits of Auckland I have been to. I don’t know how many times I have walked up and down Queens Street but never walked the final 50m past the bus terminal, which would have brought me to the Wharf – oh well! The bar we were in was desolate (but at least it was open!) so we decided to hope that we could find somewhere else open, but with a few more people and a bit more atmosphere. We walked up Queens Street and found a place matching our requirements, where we sat and chatted over a few drinks, entertaining ourselves by watching intoxicated people dancing.

I got a cab back to the hostel and resumed the packing, before giving up again and deciding it could wait until morning!