Escape from Auckland

You might have seen the news about Auckland recently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-64421920.amp

When I woke up yesterday (Friday) morning, things didn’t look good. The weather was dreadful and I quickly got on a bus out of there to my next destination, Paihia, or the Bay of Islands. The journey was rough, mostly due to the appalling weather and windy roads, but also due to the guy sat next to me who needed a shower and also needed to understand more about personal space. 

I made it to a drowned Paihia, but it wasn’t half as bad as what had unfolded down in Auckland in the mere hours after I left. Elton John’s concert got evacuated minutes before he was due on stage (I guess the sun did go down on him). The airport flooded and is closed. The roads that I had travelled on up to Paihia are now covered in landslides.

I got pretty lucky, others who were due to get the next bus after mine never did, they are stuck in Auckland. All buses are still cancelled. Fingers crossed I can get back down to go through Auckland on the next stage of my trip in two days time. If not, there’s worse places to be stuck. I’ve just finished a cruise in the bay of islands (which yesterday I was told would very unlikely be going ahead). The weather is improving, but there’s a lot to sadly tidy up.