Bus journey from Auckland to Wellington

31 Jul 2015

This was the first time, I was traveling outside Auckland. I was relocating to Wellington, one of most beautiful capital cities in the world. Things fell in place so quickly.

I had just about 3 weeks to plan my relocation. After spending some time calculating the most economical way to move all my stuff to the new city, it turned out that the bus journey was the cheapest.

Mode	Luggage	Cost	Duration
Bus	40kg + $10 for extra baggage	$34 + $10 (extra baggage, paid to driver)	11 hr
Train	All my luggage	$220	11.5 hr
Flight	25kg	$150	1 hr

For some reasons, it so happened that I decided to do a day journey. It was certainly not planned. Above that, I had a crazy last week in Auckland with catching up with friends, packing my luggage and graduating just a day before the day of journey. I was terribly sleep deprived and needed to catch up some real good sleep.

After pulling in myself into the bus, I did not miss to occupy the front seat like always. All I did the first 2 hours was to force myself to keep my eyes open. I could not succeed beyond 5 seconds.

Things changed when we reached Taupo. The scenery outside was so enchanting that I hardly blinked my eyes. That’s when I realized, why it had to be a day journey. The snow mountains in Tongariro and the Taupo lake were breath taking. The huge windows of the bus made it easy to enjoy the views around.

The bus services are excellent. The driver briefs you about the journey in the beginning. The bus stops at 2 places for an hour each, for lunch and snacks. In between these stops, there are toilet breaks every hour. There are several other bus services like Naked Bus and Mana Bus plying between major cities among which Intercity is certainly the best. 

Let me take a while to mention here about the train journey. NZ is famous for its scenic train journeys connecting all the major cities in both the Islands. The journey from AKL to WEL is called the Northern Explorer  which is worth an experience. 

The days are shorter in July and it was a full moon day. The moon was shining bright against the deep blue sky. It was perfect setup to meditate. The seat belt allowed me to sit safe and upright.  

I reached Wellington around 820PM at the central railway station. The wind reinforced what everyone mentioned, as the first thing about this city. Just then I received a text from friend, saying, Welcome to Windy Wellington. 

P.S: The driver was kind enough to take my extra baggage without the extra $10.