Auckland at last

Stayed in a beautiful hotel in Wellington and celebrated the Monster's birthday in style with lots of delicious room service. Had an early start yesterday and were on the road by 8.30 (including a 30 minute detour through the city of Wellington - the Monster thought I was lost, but it was all planned out!!! :)) Driving to Auckland was fine, it was all flat highways and loads of towns. It was raining and the countryside is lush green fields, I felt I had been teleported back to Ireland. I don't like the North Island very much. It is very different in population (much more populated), scenery (not as dramatic) and people (still friendly, but much busier). We took it in turns driving and hit Auckland at the evening rush hour. It was like being on the M50 but I didn't mind sitting in traffic because at least we only had another few miles to go rather than another couple of hours along twisting mountain roads. Our hotel is Sky City, in the Sky City Tower in the centre of Auckland. It is the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. It has casinos, lots of restaurants, spa, theatres, luxury cinemas, the sky jump (14 second free fall jump and there is no mattress to land on, but you are attached to a harness) and shops. Weather here is warm and overcast. We both had a long lie in - we are exhausted after our three days of travel - and then wandered around the city, had something to eat and did some shopping. The city is very busy and reminds me of Dublin. It is a total shock to my system. I haven't seen so many people in a month and I'm not used to the fast pace and the sheer mass of humanity.