I got an early start, and had an uneventful drive from Rotorua to Auckland, arriving at my holt around 10:30am. I left my luggage there as it was too early to check in, filled up the car with petrol and dropped it off. Then I caught a bus downtown and explored downtown Auckland for a while, hiding out in the i-Site (tourist information office) during the worst of the rain. Had a yummy burrito at a Mexican restaurant I found near the piers, and then took a bus back up to my holt, where I read a bit until they were ready to check me in. It's a basic but decent hotel: small room, comfortable bed, with only one accessible electrical outlet, near the floor, that I'll share among my recharging devices and the kettle!
I went out and explored the local neighborhood a bit, picking up a few snacks, and then after a while walked down to House of Rugby, a nearby sports bar that I figured would be a great place to watch the New Zealand/South Africa rugby test match. The place has the usual autographed jerseys on the wall, as well as a mini rugby field in the middle, complete with goal posts.
The big screen and viewing stands at House of Rugby
Unfortunately, the bar's liquor license renewal had been held up in local government red tape, and they were unable to serve any alcoholic beverages. I had shown up an hour before the match thinking it would be packed, but because there was no beer, there were only about 10 of us there.
I had a nice dinner anyway and enjoyed the game. Back to the hotel after, where there was a lot of noise on my floor for a while that made it difficult to get to sleep.
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