strays

Sabrina managed to win all four of us free North Island bus passes with Stray, through a weekly trivia contest in Wellington. She’s won it six times in total, and I’m pretty sure the company will be looking for a new location soon so she can’t continue her streak!

Stray’s one of a few ‘hop on, hop off’ backpacker bus companies, where you can stay on the same bus for your whole trip if you want to do it in the minimum number of days, or just catch the next one if you want to stay longer anywhere. We’re relatively short on time - Natalie and Christina have exactly two weeks for both islands – so we’re staying on, and doing the North Island in seven days. We’ll be going to some places Sabrina and I have already been, and some new ones. Today’s first stop was Mt. Eden, an extinct volcano that affords 360-degree views of Auckland. The weather’s not great today, though, so the collapsed volcanic cone itself was more impressive than the urban panorama.