First days in Auckland…

I arrived in Auckland on Saturday night, and after quite some time with the officers in quarantine, finally met up with Julie and Raf. [I had to check off nearly every box on the form they make you fill out: wooden items? (X) dried fruit? (X) hiking shoes that have been through a national park in the past 30 days? (X) – at least they cleaned my shoes for me, which was really appreciated – I had been ready to throw them out, and now they’re like new again!]

Julie and Raf’s apartment is in a great location, right in the central business district. Auckland has really surprised me so far – I hadn’t expected the city to look so new.

It was raining today, so we spent the afternoon in the museum. I was glad to get a bit of an overview of New Zealand, so early in the trip! To be honest, I hadn’t realized what a big part volcanoes have played in the formation of this country. The museum had a lot of information on this, which we really appreciated!