DUNEDIN TO AUCKLAND
The silence of our first overnight at the hotel in Dunedin was broken at 3:30 am when a false fire alarm was triggered. The alarm being right outside Doug's bedroom door and the fact that the electrical room was right beside his bed and that there was someone at 3:45am hammering his way through the door was enough to grant us a complimentary continental breakfast at this establishment this morning.
We take our gift and then drag our bags and bike boxes into a waiting shuttle bound for the small but very lovely Dunedin airport. In one hour and thirty minutes, modern jet technology will wipe away four weeks of old technology pedalling. The view from the plane is great and we both watch the geography of many of the places we cycled past.
We land in Auckland, grab another shuttle to an arranged hotel in this very large and cosmopolitan city and then step outside to explore.
Andy has a contact here. Her name is Robyne and she worked with him at Ernst and Young about a decade ago. We meet up with her down at moderatley new waterfront development called "The ViaDuct". It is hopping down there. We go into a sports bar that puts Cafe Roma on the Drive in Vancouver to shame. Dozens of screens many the size of a house with an important Rugby match on and no room to move. When a goal that pleases the house happens, conversation pretty much comes to a halt as the noise is impossible to talk over. They love the Rugby and Cricket in this country like we love the hockey.
As a side note, we are hearing and seeing nothing about Vancouver now. It is more like being away and isolated now as the end of the Olympics are almost a week in the past.
Anyway, we raise a few pints and then have something to eat before we say goodnight to Robyne - but not before she promises a guided tour via a private vehicle tomorrow. Good score Andy!
