After arriving in Auckland I sat on my bag outside the airport wondering how to get ‘there and away’ I notice a information centre and soon I’m on my way to the hostel in a bus laden with other backpackers. I waited in a long que and finally I found my way to my room and the girl was already there was petite with long blond hair. She explained that she was from Brazil and her name was what I thought was Dadchi in fact turned out to be Tati (short for Tatiana). She was there to try to extend the duration of her visa and was only there because she could not do that from inside Australia. She had been living in Australia since October trying to improve her English and surf the fantastic waves that broke along the gold coast. The room was for four people and about the same size as the Hong Kong hostel yet the beds were stacked bunk beds and the room had much more space as a result. There was no window but there were secure lockers beneath the beds and a fridge in the room, the beds were neatly made up and were comfortable and the biggest bonus was that they didn’t squeak!
After having a long sleep in, after all I was awake pretty much the whole night before I set about the first day finding out where I was and orientating myself with my immediate surroundings. I found the computers for e-mail, bought a ‘Wwoof’ing book (wwoof stands for willing workers on organic farms) and became a member of that organization. I changed my SIM card on my phone and found out that it was ‘locked’ and had to be ‘unlocked’ with the cost of $40 from a shop along the main street. Queen’s street is the main central road of Auckland and the hostel was on a corner about half way down. It was called Auckland Central Backpackers ACB and was about as central to the city as you could get. I walked along the nearby roads in search of some provisions the close as I came to a super market was a convenience store and these shops lined the streets there was one conveniently at every place you went although all they seemed to sell was bottled drinks, chips, cookies and chocolate! After being in HK I avoided all raw vegetables and I craved fruit!
I decided to get my bearings on the place and went to the highest point in Auckland which isn’t up an ex volcano, but Sky Tower. A massive syringe shaped construction which is the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. I got into the lift and stood on the floor and as the elevator I looked at my feet and saw the floor disappear beneath me! The floor had a panel made of glass and the doors were also glass so you could see the towers structure whiz past as it went up and up. I reached one of the levels and this was grand you could see all around, the Tazman Sea on one side, the Pacific on the other and only a small strip of land about a km wide separating the two. The views were good from the slanted windows that were angled so you could lean against them and were able to look straight down. And every now and again panels of glass were set into the floor and I felt slightly giddy when I looked down.
I headed back and spotted a slightly larger shop with bread and fruit so I stocked up and went back to my room to make myself a cheese and tomato sandwich. I tucked in and my room mate appeared just as I took a bite and a juicy piece of tomato split and the seeds spilled out from between the ‘supersoft’ wholemeal and down my top, Brilliant! I mopped myself down and began chatting to this girl.
‘I went to the Consulate and then keep telling me “Come back Wednesday, Come back Friday” so I have to go back tomorrow! I so hope to get my Visa my cousin is coming to Australia in April and May and I only can stay until April.’
‘Why did you come to Australia? When does your visa expire?’
‘The 6th April cause I can stay until then if I go back to Australia the day my passport expired on the 6th January and I only stay 3 months I can! Sometimes I don’t understand the English, my English terrible. I go to Australia to learn more English and to surf, I love the Gold Coast. There are good waves! My ex boyfriend say ‘I MISS YOU, DON’T GO FOR LONG TIME, SO I only come for two months and have NO RETURN as condition for visa. Now he and I split up and I want to stay longer, I will kill him when I go back to Brazil!’
She talked a lot but she was really nice and only 18 and also on her own so we got along well. She produced a wad of leaflets from the information place and after looking at them all we decided that we should do something together. Rangitoto Island looked good, a 30 minute ferry ride and a volcano assent. We decided to do it the day after next because she had to go back to the consulate to find out about her visa.
The next day I went to pick up my phone that had to be unlocked and tried to organize my financial accounts in NZ I was running short of the $350 I had brought with me in cash and needed to make sure I had some way of getting to my funds. I tried ATM after ATM and nothing happened. So I went into a bank and after a little fiddling about I was able to get some paper bills. I got out $500 and marched down towards the backpackers car trader. I through a park and through an alternative area with funky shops and found the place. They had about 20 vehicles and all for sale but all at much a higher price than I had in mind. After talking to the dealer for a little while and going for a spin I walked out again, carless! I arrived back at the hostel to find Tati, she had been refused an extension on her visa and had been given a letter explaining why, she asked me to translate it for her. ‘You haven’t got enough of an incentive to return to Brazil and they think that you will not return there!’
‘Ah, what is incentive?’
‘You don’t like Brazil much and you don’t have enough evidence to say that you were to defiantly go back to live there.’
‘Ok so can I stay until April?
‘I don’t know, may I see the visa?... Ah you first entered the country in October?’
‘Yes’
‘Humm I don’t know if you can, December is 3 months after October and you have been there already for 3 months.’
‘Oh no really, I’m confused… I need to go back to the consulate to ask, will you come with me? My English, terrible!
So we went and took a ticked and waited for the person behind the desk to call our number, then it was lunchtime. So she and I killed half an hour trying to get a bank to give me some money. By the time we had got back we had missed the slot but were able to squeeze in because it was a short query. ‘Yes Tati, once you re-enter Australia you may stay for three months, on the condition that you do so on or before the 6th January.’
As we wandered back to the hostel I realized we in a small part in need of each other. She needed me to help her out, to speak to her and explain stuff and I needed to help her out. I liked doing things for her, I liked to be needed in someway and it didn’t matter who it was. In one way this was a weakness but in another it was my nature. I was figuring out who I am warts and all.
Rangitoto was good, we got up and were both late, we ran to the cash point and then to a convenience store to buy some supplies and water as the guide book had stated that we must. We ran to the ferry building and made it onto the ferry with two minutes to spare! I don’t know if I will ever be in good time for any public transport! The boat was full of families and hikers all heading for the island. It was a hot day and I noticed that almost everyone had a hat except me and Tati. Hopping off the ferry and we headed for the summit. It was beautiful; there were huge ferns of various varieties and lava flows that were spiky and everything but smooth. It turned out that our mascot for the day was an Irish gent of about 75 who seemed to follow us everywhere. He was small and pink and he wore a blue cap with a shield with the colours of the Irish flag emblazoned across it. He had a flask with water and every time we saw him he would be sitting in almost exactly the same position as he had been in before but in a different location. He must also have been walking almost as fast as we were because after we had had a breather and taken a few pictures of the wonderful view of the azure water and lush green hillocks of the islands dotted about the vast natural harbor. We reached the top after about an hour of walking encircled the crater and then headed down to the only beach on the island. It was a perfect day. There were a few whisps of cloud but nothing that threaten the sunshine and the warm wind did a good job of getting rid of the humidity. A swim and a few crackers and then it was back to the walk… the sign we came across said the ferry port was still 2 ½ hours away! Crickey! We have already spent the best part of two hours walking! So we got the wriggle on and made it to the ferry in an hour and 15 mins! Just in time for the earlier crossing… phew!
The Globe Bar was our destination of the evening and we headed down to the club that was run by the hostel. People were dressed up to the tarty tops and the girls and boys were out in force… It was Saturday night… and I rocked out dancing and having a good time until I fell into bed at about 4am, a little tipsy but just as intact as I was when I left, but with a few extra phone numbers!
No comments:
Post a Comment