New Zealand--Day 1

I am alive and tired as hell, but being on the ground feels so good! We just got out of the air port in Auckland, NZ and met our tour guide Jamie from Haka Tours and Len from Odyssey Tours. We had some time to kill before we could check into our hostel, so Jamie took us to the top of Mt. Eden.  It is an inactive volcano that blew and became a crater! Off to one side of the mountain, there are some fields where it looks like pastures--this is where the native Maori used to farm. The height of the volcano served as a vantage point from other tribes that would try to attack.

By the time we left, it was about noon. Jamie took us to the edge of the area where there were some beach front shops and restaurants to hang out for the remainder of our time.  Of course, as any american would, the first food I eat while I am abroad is MEXICAN.  But it was super good so I can't be mad. Afterwards we went to the beach and ran around with the birdies and debated about collecting sea shells before deciding that ice cream was good idea.  By the way, strawberry is the best.

Eventually we headed to the hostel-- YHA Auckland--and showered! We had a group dinner that night at Sky City, but we didn't have to be back at the hostel for a little bit. A squad of us went walking down Queen St. and found a group of college looking kids playing ping pong outside.  So naturally we made friends and played with them for a bit! After eating dinner (and putting ourselves into a food coma), we finally relaxing for the day which meant we all fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow. Overall, it was a pretty successful first day :)