Auckland

A view of the sea from outside New Zealand's biggest city-Auckland. It's pretty and stuff. Where's the pub?




Outside of Auckland. I can't remember who this monument is for. I'm pretty sure it's somebody important. Some white guy.

I majored in history. I end sentences with prepositions. Basically, I'm the total package.

Auckland. From a distance. Look closely and you can see vomit on the floor of my hostel. Oh wait, that was Wellington. Nevermind. Not as nice as Memorial Drive in Atlanta, to be sure. But then again, you don't need a translator for this view, either.

Auckland from One Tree Hill. Yes, the same one U2 sang about as a tribute to the country. See the world's largest syringe? I mean, the tallest building in the Southern hemisphere? You can jump off of it, if you'd like. I could volunteer a few people.

Auckland suburbs. They're like the Energizer Bunny, they keep going, and going....

...and going and... so charming, so idyllic, so very large, those suburbs. Did you know that Auckland is one of the world's biggest cities, by geographic area? I am the purveyor of useless knowledge. And random affection.

This is Mt. Ruapehu on the central plateau. Plateau is French for...plateau. I think. You can't see it in the photo, but there is a small ring of ash near the top of the mountain--a leftover from the recent eruption which maimed one hiker. 'Maimed' is a good word--one that I'm going to try to incorporate into everyday language more often. Apparently, New Zealand is riddled with volcanoes. I learned this at the national museum in Wellington, after I apologized to the Maori people for European colonization. And MTV.