Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Transportation x 4


10.23.2007

Day 28

Auckland


Bike, boat, bus, bike, campervan – in that order. Four modes of transportation got us back to Auckland today. We started the day by riding to the ferry dock at Russell. The fifteen minute ride across the bay was very calm and serene. We then got on the Intercity bus to Auckland and four and a half hours later we were smack dab in the center of the city. A month ago I wouldn’t have been caught dead riding my pannier laden bike through a city with millions of people. Don’t get me wrong, I was still nervous, but we can handle our bikes much better now. The ride was not bad at all – maybe because we were not on a highway and the drivers couldn’t go their usual “warp speed”. We followed a map that we picked up called “Getting Around Auckland Cycle Map”. We started out along the container wharf on a designated bike path and then shared the bus lane (interesting because cars are parked here) all the way across the city. We actually came full circle when we rode past the Skyway Lodge, our home for the first two nights in New Zealand. Overall, I’d say it was a pretty good adventure.
Our next escapade began when we picked up the campervan. Leslie’s parents arrive tomorrow and we decided it would be the most logical, cost-effective way to travel. I think we got the logical right, but maybe not the economics. Anyhow, we should have some funny stories to tell after they leave. I got to be the first driver and was christened with a drive through rush hour to the campervan park. Coupled with the fact that I was driving on the opposite side of the road with a manual transmission, you can imagine that I enjoyed my first glass of New Zealand chardonnay when we arrived at our campsite.
LK

2 comments:

JennSean said...

Some of us were hoping you would start your own line of orange vest clothing. What do you think? Still working on a logo for you.
-JH

Class Act said...

Hey from "homebase"...here's to plenty of more excapades...keeps life interesting. Thanks for the map, the kids are enjoying it...it is the center of the BBoard, and I printed black and white blogs with yarn running to the area mentioned. It will be an ongoing wall, may outgrow the space! We are looking for types of unusual scientists, so if you run across any please pass along the info. By the way the coordinates are a hit, fits right into the curriculum. Ciao...