Air's story - Going round in circles

I first came to New Zealand in April, 2007. Everywhere was clean, not crowded and there were a lot of places to relax, so I was very impressed.

Even though New Zealand is peaceful, I have sometimes had some adventures. One day, I had to visit my relatives in Orewa. I had never been there before.

I set out at seven o’clock from Greenlane Road in Auckland and drove along the motorway. Carefully I checked signs because I didn’t want to waste any time losing my way.

Five minutes later, my aunt called me on my mobile, asking where I was. We talked for about two minutes, and then I saw two signs that I couldn’t tell apart. The first was “Nelson” and the other was “Newton”. I chose “Nelson”. After that everything became like a whirlpool.

I lost my way and drove for an hour around and around the city centre. I tried to find the right way, but I reached the Sky Tower instead. I had planned to visit here once, but not now. I kept driving past Auckland University and stopped my car to ask someone, but he answered too quickly for me, so I didn’t understand him.

“Try again,” I told myself. I drove along the road and saw a lot of boats sailing on the sea. When I was in Thailand, my friend told me that Auckland is the city of sails. When I saw them, I knew what she meant.

Fortunately, I saw the Auckland Harbour Bridge. That reminded me of the way to Orewa. Then I could find the sign to cross the bridge and reach my destination even though it was very late.

However, that morning was not so bad. It was an excursion that I have never forgotten.