It's a bit after 6 pm and my step count currently says 15,414 steps. It's been another big day, especially since I didn't even leave the apartment until 11 am.
It was a really big day of travel yesterday and I really, really needed a sleep-in. At 8 am I finally got out of bed; I had slept reasonably well, with a few short wake-ups, for about 10 hours (maybe a bit more). I wasn't in a hurry to run or walk, or even talk to anyone else.
So Brad went for a run without me and I took my time to drink water, do some yoga and strength exercises and wake up slowly. I'd had breakfast by the time he got home and felt far more human again.
After taking some time to pour over a city map and have a long hot shower, we headed out the door with our walking gear on ready to tackle the city. We strolled down what seems to be the main street of Auckland (Queen St) and took tiny side detours for photos along the way. We wandered through to the CBD train station (Britomart) and then across to the Ferry Terminal before continuing on to Wynyard Quarter.
We hadn't planned to go that far but our curiosity lead us from one spot to the next to the next and before we knew it we were looking at all the boats at Silo Marina.
We wandered back, sun on our faces, wind at our backs, our feet still happy enough.
We searched for another toilet and food. We found the food court that had been suggested to us right near the Britomart Station. We had vegan burgers for lunch. (They were scrumptious!) And then it was time to choose: go back to the hotel for a rest and go out later, or stay out for the afternoon and come home early.
We opted for the latter and hopped on a bus bound for Glen Innes. The bus was cheap and easy (once we'd had someone explain it to me at the Britomart, that is!) and we could jump on or off at any of the beaches along the northern stretch of shore.
We had been planning to go to Mission Bay from the moment we first heard about it months ago when planning this trip but while on the bus Brad had a great idea that we could take the bus another 2 km further, to St Heliers Beach and then walk back to Mission Bay. Sold.
It was great. Yes, it was still a little windy, but not as windy as yesterday. Yes, I needed to buy some sunscreen for my face as it had had just about enough sun for the day already and it was too windy to keep my hat on forwards in some spots. And yes, by the end my feet had probably had enough. But it was lovely. Well worth every step.
All photos of me, us and of the landscape were taken by Brad (@new.things). The screenshots of the walk data and the maps came via Garmin Connect, and the connected, Google Maps.
And I'm up to Day 25 of 30 for Hive Blog Posting Month. It's been a big month! And we're only a few days away from completing another epic month of daily posting. Woooooo!