Comings and goings

It was, as expected, a long drive.  I managed to break it up a little by picking up a hitchhiker for part of it - a young man from Brazil.  He'd only just left school and here he was travelling around a distant and foreign country all on his own.  That takes some confidence!  We enjoyed about an hour or so of each others company before I dropped him off to continue on his way whilst I continued on mine.

Brief stop in Taupo to refuel both van and self then off again towards Auckland.

I arrived around 3.45 so had in plenty of time to relax and recover a bit before heading to the concert.  I felt particulalry fortunate to stumble on a stack of parking spaces just a couple of hundred metres or so from the concert venue.  With just a $10 parking fee it was perfect - and cheap!  I even had time to spend people-watching and photographing at the old Railway Station next door to the concert venue.  What a stunning building!  

What can I say about the concert?  Average age of the audience was well over 50 but there were certainly a good number of younger people too.  Having been a Neil Diamond fan since way back in the days of my wrinkle-free youth, it really was something quite special to see and hear him in the flesh.  His looks have changed, yes (haven't everyone's?) and he's not quite as energetic as he may once have been on the stage, but his voice is still as sweet as ever.  A fabulous night and well worth every ounce of organisation and planning needed to get here to be part of it.