Pride and Prejudice

We landed in Auckland on Friday, and were greeted by some very cheery passport control officers, who completely ignored our customs declaration which stated that we may be carrying "medicines, restricted substances, illegal drugs, drug paraphernalia, or illegal publications" (G had some painkillers). They did however find time to scrub clean C's hiking boots, and wish her a happy birthday!

We emerged into bright sunny daylight, which was welcome following 24 hours in virtual darkness, and found a shuttle service straight to our hostel. The shuttle driver kindly decided to unload someone else's rucksack with our luggage, which we eventually managed to return. The hostel is lovely, the beds comfortable- perfect for passing out after a long journey.

After our (8 hour) nap, we took a night-time stroll around the city. There are trees everywhere, lots of international restaurants, and a ship-shaped club in the middle of the street, pumping out such 90's anthems as "Barbie Girl" and "Baby one more time". We aren't sure if it was a cheesy pop night, or whether it takes 20 years for music to reach these distant shores (given the number of skateboards, we'd guess the latter).

The following day, we explored the city centre. C bought a Kobo e-reader, as the death of a third Kindle put an end to brand loyalty. We purchased SIM cards and had working phones again by the afternoon. Yay!

In the evening, we made our way down to Ponsonby Road, to witness the Auckland Pride parade, passing a Christian stall proudly displaying a scale model of Noah's Ark. Sadly, the event was disappointing, as there was too much time between the floats, so people got bored in between, which ruined the atmosphere. C and G attempted to provide enthusiasm and whooping, but to no avail. We later found out that the theme was "Time", which explains why many of the floats had been vaguely space-age-y for no apparent reason.

The swim team had an original display, with space-age swimmers divided by rope lanes swimming down the road to loud music. There was a man dressed as a giant dinosaur, a retro ambulance, and a heart-warming family float with very cute enthusiastic children and toddlers dancing on top with their parents.

We left the parade after an hour or so, as the waiting around was a bit of a downer. We later found out that the parade had been held up due to attacks on the Israeli float.