My best thing to do when you arrive at a new city, especially if you have jet lag and your hotel isn't ready, is join the hop on hop off bus!
The logo of the Auckland shipping yards
We arrived in Auckland super early in the morning. The World Cup ambassadors were delightful and fun to talk to. We got to our downtown hotel, dropped the luggage and picked up hop-on hop off bus tickets at the ferry building.
We managed to see the heart of downtown with hardly anyone around on Sunday morning. I later read a 1980s Lonely Planet where Tony Wheeler (one of the originals) said "Don't arrive in Auckland on Sunday, you will think it is uninhabited." Guess that hasn't changed!
Auckland Sky Tower in the distance. We didn't go up, but oh well, something for next time.
We got off the bus to stop at the library. We love checking out the local library! This has a slightly dated feel, but was clearly loved.
Perfect timing-after once around on the bus our hotel was ready. It was a 2 bedroom suite up on the 40th floor!
They have information built into the sidewalks-lovely!
After seeing it from up high, we got a chance to see the port up close on a morning run.
Even their public bathrooms are interesting.
These are for the Wold Cup celebrations downtown.
It really was a spectacular way to live for a few days.
This is the hotel across the street from ours where the US Team stayed.
That is the bus taking the US team to the stadium! When we realized, we joined the crowd and stood around for a long time.
They finally came out...and there was a city bus blocking our view! Still cracks me up. Totally worth it.
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