Enjoying an extended stay

I should be back in Sydney right now. I'm not. Still in Auckland.

My new visa, for which I had to apply while out of the country and wait for its approval before reentering, was not processed in the 48 hours that I was told is generally required. So no return trip on Sunday.

Fortunately, approval came yesterday (Monday) and now I'm completely legit! I head back on Thursday.

The extended stay in Auckland, however, isn't exactly the worst thing in the world. In fact, you could say that I'm enjoying it. Just a little more time to explore what I've found to be a pretty good city. Hey, even the Wallpaper guide book is treating me well!

Did you know that Auckland sits on a volcanic field? They say it's dormant for now, but it's only a matter of time for a new volcano to erupt. As in, it will happen. Isn't that crazy? I mean, they should have plenty of warning for the next eruption, but I'm not entirely sure why anyone would want to set up shop here for any extended period of time. Anyway, I've climbed up a few of the volcanoes here, which offer some great views.

Made some great discoveries for food and drink, as well. The Northern Steamship Co, right near the city's waterfront, is awesome. They only serve Mac's (a great line of local beers), offer a really good menu and have a nice, warm decor.

And there's randomly a large amount of Mexican restaurants! This has me absolutely baffled. You see, Mexican food in Australia is next to nonexistent. And for those establishments that do serve it, it's generally crap. But here... I actually went into a place with real Mexicans. REAL MEXICANS!!

And although I haven't been to any fast food restaurants, I've been pleasantly surprised to see a Wendy's, Denny's and Dunkin' Donuts. As far as I know, none of those places exist in Australia. Even Burger King is called Burger King!*

*For those who don't know, Burger King in Australia is called Hungry Jack's. (If you care at all, this Wikipedia entry explains why.) Since New Zealand is linked to Australia in so many ways -- think Canada to the US -- I assumed it would be the same here. Nope.

Weather has been on and off. The first two days were quite nice. Sunny. The weekend was a bit miserable. Lots of rain. Yesterday was gorgeous. A bit cool, but clear, blue skies. Today isn't so nice. Rainy and much colder.

But I'm still enjoying it. Nice to get away and do something different. So I'm trying to make the most of it, because this Thursday, I'm back at it.