We are staying in the ACB hostel just off Queen Street in central Auckland. We made breakfast in the large communal kitchen. Around 11:00 we went on a tour of Auckland city organized by Stray travel. It was good to get off the main strip and get up on top of the volcano, across the bridge and other sights that were too far away to walk to. The tour guide was very good and was full of interesting information about New Zealand and its history. I particularly liked the fact that the information came from a personal standpoint as opposed to a sanitized view from a guide book. The tour was free, the only catch was you had to sit through a half hour presentation about Stray and the bus tours they offer. Jonathan and Sophie had been on a Kiwi Experience tour around the North Island so they were interested to be able to compare what Stray had to offer. The tour was significantly different and we were offered a good deal so all three of us signed up for the trip round both islands. The tour is organized such that you can move on each day and stay with the same driver or hop on hop off when it suits you. Graham was on quite a tight timescale, however we should be able to stay extra nights should we find somewhere we particularly like.
We had a steak dinner then went out on the town for a while. A wee tip for all reading this, the Casino in the Auckland tower is unbelievably cheesy…. and not in a good way either!!