“This is it. If I take one more step, I'll be the farthest away from home I've ever been.”

― The Lord of the Rings

Kia Ora!

Jet lag

As usual, I was unable to get any sleep during my 16-hour flight. My plan was to go to bed at 23:00 local time and wake up 8–10 hours later, magically adjusting to the new time zone. Well, (un)surprisingly, it didn't work out. The first few days, I was waking up at 3–5 a.m. But the lack of sleep and the fatigue wasn't the only problem: I was dizzy and had headaches most of the time. Additionally, due to my planning mistake, I've got one day less to adjust.

In total, it took me seven days to get back into a somewhat normal sleep cycle.

Exploration

Most people only visit Auckland for one or two days or skip it entirely. I wouldn't call the biggest city in New Zealand boring, especially as a street photographer, but it's true that it's not super exciting compared to the rest of the country. I still wish I had one more day to explore one of the islands in the Golf von Hauraki, though.

The Viaduct Harbour and the nearby Wynyard Quarter are one of the main tourist spots.

The Auckland Domain is the oldest park in the city. It's a great introduction into the "New Zealand green" color palette.

If life gives you jet lag, you watch the sunrise at Maungawhau (Mount Eden), the tallest volcano and the highest natural point in Auckland. I decided to make the best out of the situation and grabbed a Lime scooter (my second time ever) in the middle of the night. I've also used the chance to get a little experience with left-side driving. The last 15min or so I had to walk, but it was an easy ascent.

I arrived right before the sunrise. The only other people were joggers or people with dogs, so it was rather peaceful. I wasn't sure if I will see the sun at all, as the whole sky was covered by clouds. Fortunately, there was a small gap, making the moment even more magical.

The Sky Tower is an iconic landmark in Auckland. With 328m, it is the tallest structure in New Zealand, surpassing the Eiffel Tower by 4 meters.

There are glass floors one can walk on for a little bit of thrill.

Experiences

Speaking of the Sky Tower, I also did my first adrenaline-based activities of my sabbatical.

On the SkyWalk, you walk around the outside ring of the Sky Tower, with no handrails. As this is not terrifying enough, you are peer pressured encouraged to do some extracurricular activities, like leaning forward/back or walking while looking up. It was way more intense than I have expected!

The SkyJump is a controlled free fall. You descend for about 11 seconds, reaching around 85 km/h, before landing safely on the ground.

I'm glad I did both! While the SkyJump offers a quick, high-intensity rush, the SkyWalk maintains a high adrenaline level over a much longer period.

I also visited the Wētā Workshop Unleashed. Wētā is known for their movie visual effects, especially for Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and Avatar, for which they have won several Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards. In roughly two hours, you learn a lot about animatronics, costumes, scene building and more. There were only a few things from LOTR (their Wellington experience is focused on that), but it was still fun and informative.

Fauna

The only bird I have seen in Auckland that is native to New Zealand was the silver gull, and — as expected — they were everywhere.

At Mount Eden, I have spotted a yellowhammer. It's interesting and disappointing at the same time to visit New Zealand only to spot a European bird, which was brought to the country in the 19th century.

Last but not least, there are lots of Australian magpies. Fun fact: those birds are not related to magpies, the naming comes only due to the visual similarities. Unfortunately, it's an invasive species, but it's not as bad as the common myna.

I also saw this little bug. AI recognition suggests a cicada, but it doesn't look like all the other cicadas I've seen.

Story time

While I despise Musk, I did appreciate the (free) fast Starlink connection throughout my flight. Being able to stream a TV series at 37.000 feet over the Indian Ocean from my home server is astonishing.

Takeaways

Similar to Qatar, people in New Zealand are welcoming and kind. I feel like I need to mention it specifically, as I am not used to it. Don't get me wrong, most Germans are friendly as well, but we usually don't show that level of involment or interest. You won't ever hear "Hey, how are you doing?" from a vendor in Germany.

Except for the jet lag, it's been a great start into my New Zealand journey!