4 friends. 3 countries. 5 cities. 3 weeks.

We finally reached the last leg of our adventure. Here's our adventure in Auckland, New Zealand!

Day 1:

We arrive in Auckland and received quite an epic greeting.

First order of business, as always, finding the hotel. After we finished getting settled in, Ali and I set out to explore some goodies at the super market.

We then turned in for the night. We had a big day planned for the next day!

Day 2:

The day I'd been waiting for since we left Seattle: Hobbiton Day!!! We had to wake up bright and early to meet with the tour guide (Red Carpet Tours) that would drive us there. It was a long drive, but he surprised us with a ton of awesome stories and a replica of the contract that Bilbo signed in the Hobbit.

We made it to Hobbiton and hung out in the gift shop/cafe until the tour was ready to start.

The tour bus finally arrived and we were on our way to see Hobbiton!

We had a lot of fun walking around Hobbiton. My geek heart was a max happiness. Everything was so picturesque. We saw all the highlights, including, of course, Bag End.

After taking in Hobbiton, it was time to head to The Green Dragon for a pint of (ginger) beer.

For the cherry on top, we got to enjoy a special buffet lunch. Super delicious!!

And so, with sorrow, we had to journey back to the hotel. For a special treat, we got to stop for some ice cream along the way.

Once we returned to the city, we spent the rest of the night walking around, checking out all the local shops. Getting some souvenirs.

Day 3:

The next day, we decided to start at the Sky Tower for some excellent views of the city.

Next, we hopped on a bus to head to the Auckland Museum (also known as the Auckland War Memorial Museum). This museum had quite a lot to offer: a cultural show, historic artifacts from the indigenous people, as well as some scientific stuff. We got some fun Moana vibes from some of the historic stuff.

We spent quite a long time there, so afterwards, it was back to the hotel for the night.

Day 4:

Day 4 we set off to see Mount Eden, the highest volcanic peak in Auckland. You can take a small little walking trail to the top to see some great views of the city.

We took a bus to get to Mount Eden, and then decided to walk back to see what we could discover along the way. First discovery: a fun little park. We had some fun discovering our inner child for a bit.

We continued on and found a little shop with a ton of cute fuzzy things! Alpaca items seem really popular in Auckland. You'll see a lot of them in souvenir shops.

Next, we walked through an old cemetery. I loved how the trees were growing around all the headstones.

Lunch break! There were so many yummy looking shops along the way, but we ended up getting some shawarma.

We made it back to the city center, and with nothing else planned for the day, we decided to stick with the theme of inner child and play some indoor putt-putt. We went to the Lost in Time Mini Golf off of Queen Street.