So Katy and I were both due out of our hotels at 11:00 we decided we should try somewhere out of the city for a bit as both of us are very discouraged and dissappointed with this whole finding a place to live thing. Katy finds a hostel out in Ponsonby, which is a suburb to the west of the city and is also where the MOTAT (Musuem of Transportation and Technology) and the Auckland Zoo. We decide it would be a good idea to just take a deep breath and check out the zoo, get our minds off the city for a bit.
We get to the Brown Kiwi and its a cute little house filled to the brim with kids about 20-25 years old from all over the world. Meeting these people were definetly a priority for me as I found this to be overwealmingly neat. We decide to walk to the zoo and then come back for dinner. It seems that everyone in NZ LOVES giving directions but none of them are too keen on the correct ones. After getting directions from many kiwis we goto the MOTAT and ask the guy at the front desk he says hop onto the tram and it will take you there. We do as he says and hop onto what he called a tram, but I obviously misunderstood as a New Zealand "tram" is actually an oversized train they have in the mall around Christmas time for kids age 1-5. Very rickety but the inner child in me actually enjoyed it quite a bit. The tram chugs along for quite a while and comes to a stop at the zoo entrance... needless to say we were way off with our directions.
So the zoo, it was rather small but I thought it was quite impressive, many of the animals were active and seemed healthy and happy. We went into Darwin's Cafe for something to eat, I got myself prepackaged egg salad sandwiches and a giant orange slushy, Katy got fries, a fruit cup, and a beer...? Yes they serve alcohol at the zoo, which was frightening enough. They also served champagne and hard liquor. So back to the zoo, the sea otters were very cute, they were chasing the sparrows that would land in the pen, very playful and entertaining to watch. Also got to see my first tuatara (looked like a bearded dragon to me) and my first kiwi bird ( which was actually cute but much bigger then i thought). Onwards, a Giant Tortoise was indeed a giant much much bigger then i expected. Walking through I realized that much of the zoo is integrated into what seems to be natural topography. In other words the place was not levels first and then built upon. It also included a lot of natural plants and very open enclosures, seemingly nothing containing the animals at all, which was a cool feature. The aquarium was closed and would be until 2012... maybe revisit then? The hippos were jumping in and out of the water and splashing and playing, never knew they could be so happy. Skipped thru the monkeys as they are not very interesting straight to the penguins and sea lions. Obviously not in the same enclosure but same theme. The sea lions must be hungry as they are all standing/sitting? in front of the trainers door. The blue penguins were not only cute but were pocket sized, they were SOOO tiny, they however looked cold... which seems ridiculous but there you have it.
One of the neat parts of the zoo was how they have a savannah exhibit quite like what you would expect from zoo tycoon. Ostriches, Zebras, Girafes, Springbox, Rhinos. The springbox were great as they looked like skateborders jumping over ramps and chasing each other jumping around. Even better was the fact that the lion area overlooked the savannah area and the lions were all watching the springbox jumping with hungry eyes... Just staring and staring.. seemed like the idea was "king of the jungle" has a big rock where they overlook the rest of its domain, very King Louis 14th... very Lion King... however I dont think the designer realized how much of a tease this view would be for the lions.
So we leave the zoo and get back to the Brown Kiwi hostel. Time to find some food and eat with these people. Went to little cafe and got a cajun chicken sandwich, Katy got Satay Chicken. Brought it back to the hostel and started talking at the kitchen table. Germans, Australians, French, Chinese, Tahitian, Irish and the UK. Talked to the UK guy the most as he seemed the most interested and most willing to talk, he was amazed by the amount of snow we got in the blizzard. On the wall I noticed a map of the world and I caught a glimpse of cut marks that made an "x" over the USA.... I think that people are a bit intimidated by Americans but at the same time once WE started talking to them and getting a dialogue going, they seemed to realize oh maybe their not all alike. Stereotypes are pretty amazing but they usually have some truth to them as thats how they come about. The Germans were a bit loud and rowdy, the French guy knew how to cook, the chinese girls stuck to their own and pointed and laughed at everything, the australian girls were all over the males, the UK guy drank tea and the Irish guy drank beer... The americans got food from other cultures, were outgoing and willing to break some social and cultural boundaries and in the end thought themselves to be better then the rest..... The world in a nut shell I suppose.
That night I read a bit fell asleep and woke up to one of the Germans snoring like a wildebeast. Bad sleep goodnight tho. Big day tomorrow as Katy and I visit Piha Beach
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