Our first accommodation after a week is over and we were thinking where to go. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to look for accommodation, and as we have the experience of our trip in Asia, we can get accommodation in exchange for help to the hosts. Workaway is not a popular server in NZ, Woofing or HelpX is better. So we registered on the HelpX site for 20 EUR. I wrote to 3 hosts, from which one of them from the center of Auckland offered us an accommodation from 19.7. It wasn’t bad at the beginning. Until then, there will be no problem finding accommodation in a modest hostel.
Queen Street Backpackers Hostel
Thanks to the winter season, we are lucky with prizes as they are NZD 5 per person per night lower than the rest of the year. And because we don’t mind shared rooms, we booked Mix Dorm. In addition, the hostel offered wifi and breakfast included, a large kitchen and laundry facilities. The price was 19 NZD per night, so we booked 3 nights. The location of the hostel is like living near Wenceslas Square in Vodičkova Street in Prague. Which corresponded to the night’s busy life. Thank God for the earplugs from the plane 🙂
Bonus for us:
Thanks to the fact that the hostel was fully booked, they
Exploring Auckland city center
Basically, don’t expect any surprises. Auckland is the 7th most cosmopolitan city in the world, so you can see shops, restaurants and brands from America and Europe, as well as Asia. If you want to buy something really local, there are many souvenir shops or shops with clothing that is made from merino wool. Perhaps to my the biggest surprise was to see a large number of homeless people (lying or sitting) in front of the shops (with everything what they have – with mattress, duvet, shopping cart, etc.).
Throughout the center you will see old and renovated buildings as well as modern buildings. A big pity when walking through the center is that there are plenty of buildings under the scaffolding and sail. On the contrary, what you see everywhere are bus stops. There is no subway in Auckland, so the bus is the only public transport. A big favorite (as well as with us) is the possibility of renting a scooter or bike, but people behave differently and so it is not a big surprise that sometimes they lie in the place where they do not be.
Bonus:
I’m glad we brought the cups and water bottle with us. Here, too,
A harbour – a place for rest and family sitting
I like a project that uses containers around the port. One was introduced as a living room with a library. Anyone can come here, sit, read, relax and watch ships. Or you can find here big wooden deck chairs (min. For 2 persons), children’s park, view point (I don’t even talk about many restaurants and cafes).
Sky Tower – The highest attraction in the city
- Telecommunication and observation tower 328 meters high.
- The highest standing building in the southern hemisphere and the 25th highest tower in the world.
- It is built to withstand 8.0 Richter scale in an earthquake in 20 km outbreak.
- Opened on 3.8.1997.
- Located in central Auckland.
- At the top of the tower, there is the only rotating restaurant that turns 360 degrees every hour.
- SkyJump is available from the tower for adrenaline daredevils.
- A tower with various colors supports several charities and major events.
What to say in conclusion
Four days in the busy center, they ran away quickly and in the meantime, we moved a little further into the suburbs, where our first New Zealand volunteering began.
