Mt. Eden & Robin Laid a Big Fat Egg

Auckland, New Zealand – 25 February 2011 at 12:07pm
Kansas City, USA – January 24, 2011 at 5:07pm

I’m literally sitting at the top of a volcano while I write this blog entry…Let me introduce you to Mt. Eden.

I woke up this morning, worked out and checked out of my oasis…the two bedroom apartment on Wakefield St. I walked the two blocks with my bags and checked into the YHA International Hostel, the place where I will lay my head the remaining two nights in Auckland before I fly to Queenstown.

There are just a few things on my list to see while I’m in Auckland and the rest of the time is being used for relaxation and recuperation before my next seven day tour in Tasmania. Visiting a volcano was at the top of the list. I researched in my Lonely Planet guide book about each volcano and chose to hike up Mt. Eden. To quote the book “There’s a huge reservoir of molten magma 100km below the streets of Auckland, and there are 50 volcanic peaks around the city. But don’t sweat – there hasn’t been an eruption here for 600 years.” Given my recent track record with natural disasters, if one of these things erupts while I’m here or just a few days after my departure I’m going to know that there is something definitely wrong with me.

It is a very warm summer day but there is a slight breeze that takes away the scorch. The hike up was beautiful…hot but beautiful…it felt good to reach the top. The views are amazing! It is a complete 360 degree view of Auckland and the surrounding Islands. You can see for miles and miles. You can actually see several of the other volcano peaks as well but according to the guide book Mt. Eden is the highest point at 192 meters and the deepest crater at 50 meters.

For the remainder of the afternoon I’m going to sit at the top, finish my book about Lance and get a little sunshine. I love vacations.

Later that day:
So after I finished my book, I decided I would walk around the city. I found some fabulous shops and met some wonderful people. I enjoyed a coffee and a sweet little cafe and made a couple new friends. Instead of taking the mass transit across town to go back to the YHA I decided to make the hour trek back on foot just soaking it all in... on my way, I ran across the New Zealand Olympic Committee Marketing and Communications office...I'm hoping this is yet another sign of what good things are to come in the future.

Once I made it back to the YHA I met this really strange bird named Robin (no pun intended). He was from France (or so he says) and told me how he has been traveling all over the world for about four years and basically surviving by lying... hahaha... so honest about his 'lying' I had to find out more.

He said when he was in Phoenix Arizona about a year ago lied on his resume to get a job in a restaurant. He listed a previous job as the head chef of a restaurant in France...the guy had zero cooking skills. I asked him how he made it work, you know, when he couldn't slice a tomato properly someone would have to catch on. He said he just yelled a lot in French and made people think he knew what he was doing and he started watching Rachel Ray and read Julia Child's cookbook... (are you kidding me? I couldn't make up this kind of drama if I wanted too. Margaret...I have a new character for our TV sitcom!)...I quickly realized he must be a con artist...either he is lying to impress me or he really did all of these crazy things and lies to everyone for fun, out of habit or is just plain crazy. Either way, I knew I needed to get away from this guy quick...he was too smooth and my gut was telling me he could possibly be the next Ted Bundy? He told a similar story about a retail clothing store in London and how he ended up as the manager...I asked to see his passport...after shuffling through his bag to find two passports (both from France) I noticed the visa and his stamps for China didn't match up either...hmmmm...is answer to my inquiry..."yeah, the guy I paid to make the stamp messed up the dates." WOW...this guys doesn't quit! It just goes to show, you just never know who you are going to meet....but in all seriousness, I have no idea how some people make it through life, I have friends and relatives (no names mentioned) who can't balance a checkbook but somehow this guy is making his spiderweb of tall tales work...unless....he was pulling a fast one over on me... I guess I'll never know.

Additional Photos: Auckland