Got to ask - why on earth would anyone want to go to Queen Street to open a bank account - couldn't you have done it in Manukau on the way back to Hamilton?
I agree the traffic in the inner areas at rush hour is dreadful - the natives avoid the main roads like the plague if they can. But I regularly travel to Albany from Clevedon, so literally from one end of Auckland to the other, and at best it takes 40 minutes, while at worse an hour. But have got to admit, yes it could have been me on a shopping trip - just off the Auckland Airport route is Dressmart with all of the factory shops, fatal to my credit card!!! Mind you I also like Sylvia Park... does Hamilton have anything similar in size? All those lovely shops, winebars, cafes, etc.
Perhaps I am a city girl at heart, but isn't Hamilton a city too????
