public transit

I'm going to continue this blog by pulling photos from the trip, posting them, writing about them.  Sometimes more commentary on New Zealand life and culture on a broader scale than what's actually in the photo.  

This is one of the first photos I took in New Zealand this trip, on an express bus from Auckland International Airport to downtown.  Anyone familiar with metro Vancouver buses will recognize the colour scheme.  This bus was not busy, most likely due to the time (around 8am) and the fact that it was Good Friday (holiday).

Since we had a car rental for most of trip, we only found ourselves relying on public transit in Auckland.  This trip was fairly straightforward; our next interface with Auckland transit slightly less so.

We spent the following day (Saturday before Easter) hiking the Mt. Tongariro volcano and wandering around suburban Davenport.  Once back in downtown Auckland, fed and watered, we attempted to get back to the suburb of Onehunga via public transit.  Our first stop at a large bus interchange sent us to a nearby train station, where we learned the train to Onehunga was not running.  But there was a bus going roughly the same direction.  So far so good; bus dropped us at the Onehunga train station, which we guessed (being map + iPhone-less) was not far away. 

At this point we should've flagged a cab.  However, we were convinced we were within walking distance, or at least a short bus ride.  Fast forward through unhelpful directions from a friendly convenience store owner, more walking until we found a supermarket, and two phone calls from there to a cab company, and we did finally get to our destination.

All in all, an adventure, if somewhat tiring.

We had better luck and advance planning when we took transit from Onehunga to the Auckland Museum at trip's end.  Crankier bus drivers, though.  Probably because two of us were using -- legally --  a loaned prepaid bus pass)  

One thing NZ transit can teach us in North America?  The beauty of GIVING CHANGE, and accepting paper bills for fare.