Day Two in Auckland

I am writing this several days after the fact but day two in Auckland was quite eventful. I started the day with an orientation in which I got paperwork to get a tax number, learned how to open a bank account, and learned a bit about the country. Grabbed a quick bite at a cafe which is not important, but in my search for lunch I noticed something.

Auckland is full of cafes. Every little street is filled with tiny eateries serving all sorts of ethnic food, coffee, sandwiches, and sweets. I have since discovered that New Zealand culture is a cafe culture. As a foodie, I like this. After lunch I went to the Auckland gallery which is currently under renovation and expansion but the small galleries landscapes and maori portraits were quite stunning.

I think it was around this time of day, when I was searching for a journal that a potentially monumental thought came to me. Or maybe it was after I went up the Sky Tower (views were amazing). The thought, the idea for an adventure, is as follows:

I want to see the country. Small as it is, it is still an overwhelming proposition to explore the country without any direction or purpose. So, to give myself direction, and make a project out of my exploration, I will go around the country from brewery to brewery, interviewing brewers, touring breweries, tasting beer, and keep a journal/journals of the experience.

I then asked myself why? where did this idea come from?. The answer lies in the spirit of exploration and adventure that pours from so many of the people I have encountered in my short time in this country. This spirit is contagious and I have adapted this general thirst for adventure to suit my own ambitions, adding a purpose to the exploration.

I thought about all of this while sitting in a food court of sorts, the sort of place that Anthony Bourdain would approve of, eating my first plate of malaysian food, which was quite delicious. I visited the shakespeare tavern and mac's, both brewpubs, and another post is to follow with my experiences there.