First official post from me as the Ramblin' Rucksack Man, as the fellas in STAtravelbuzz have decided to call me! Funny how a quirky little comment can become a nickname that sticks...for my entire career as an STA Explorer at least!

In my last entry I mentioned something about exploring Auckland before I set off to Fiji. To cut the story short, I've come up with a few locations around Auckland Central where, so far-fetched from the as-hectic-as-NZ-gets Queens Street, tourism has hardly left a trace.

And yet these places deserve the attention from us visitors, and that's exactly what I'm going to do - bring home the justice.

Devonport is a beautiful, wee town on the North Shore of Auckland. I remember being brought there by my parents when I first came to Aotearoa (Maori for New Zealand), had lunch in a cafe where the food was terrific, then proceeded to the harbour overlooking Auckland Central and Harbour Bridge. I'd love to return to the place to recollect some memories, before they vanish for good.

Takapuna requires a adventurous northbound journey from the city centre, one such that little travellers/tourists have succeeded to endure (unless you're on a Kiwi Experience Bus bound for Paihia, but then you only get to drive pass it). It's a pretty commercial conglomerate for a suburban community, even though a scan of the horizon is all you get. A short venture down to the sea front, however, brings you to a 'fossil-tree locality' - I worked on a web guide to this site when working for Uni of Auckland last summer/winter, but have yet to visit - more on it after my visit.

And like I mentioned before, the volcanic island of Rangitoto is definitely worth a visit and is on my itinerary.

So yeah, less planning and more travelling hopefully in a few day's time!