Leaving Auckland

Today was my last day here in Auckland, no one really spoke very highly of it before I came here. However, I met some cool people and decided to hang out for a few extra days. I've been sharing a room with two Americans: Patrick from Florida and Rachel from upstate New York. Patrick is young and looking for a job here, I don't know why he's leaving in two weeks. Rachel is a bit older than me, though she doesn't always act like it. She's a little ignorant when it comes to current events, but she's fun to drink with. Chris is a 27 year old programmer from the UK whose designing his own iPhone apps. He definitely shares his sense of humor with me, and his love of drinking. There's also Mikka and Sabrina, two hilarious Germans who definitely break the German stereo type. We went to Devonport a neighborhood where the houses are storage 125 years old and worth millions despite being so small. Skytower, the tallest building in the southern hemisphere was pretty cool. It had great views of Auckland, the harbor and surrounding islands. You could jump off it for a few hundred bucks, and also walk outside along the top of it. We decided to have a few beers and enjoy the view. Today Chris and I rented a car and went to Hobbiton. Patrick from Florida is in the hospital for something so we asked thus random German gut if he wanted to tag along. It was about a two hour drive south of Auckland but well worth it. They filmed all three of The Lord of The Rings movies and recently The Hobbit films there and its all still standing. We really lucked out and only had the three of us and a Spanish women on the tour and our guide let us go in some areas where most weren't allowed. It was one of the coolest places I've been yet, our guide gave us leaves that had fallen off one of the fake trees, and let us take lots of goofy pictures. Tomorrow I leave for my bus tour, I'm excites but also worried. I have to make all new friends after leaving the awesome ones I've made here in Auckland.