Arrival in Auckland

After around 28 hours underway, we arrived in Auckland at about 4 am on Friday, January 13.  The Air New Zealand flight was great.  Premium economy was a significant improvement over the economy class seating and service we’re used to.  We were in exit row seats and so had about 4 feet of free space in front of us.  We got enough rest to be able to put in a reasonably full day of touring today.  Being able to check into our B&B at 6:10 am so we could unpack, shower, and  change helped, too.

Both New Zealanders on our flight and the people we’ve talked to here let us know that this has been an unusually wet summer.  The last 4 or so weeks have been nothing but rain.  It was raining when our flight touched down, and we had a few showers early in the morning, but otherwise it was a perfectly gorgeous day—warm but not hot, windy, blue skies with racing white clouds, blue-green water filled with everything from sailboats to container ships.

We are staying in a B&B in Devonport, a 10-minute ferry ride from Auckland’s central business district.  Despite our having rousted them out of bed at 6:10 this morning, our hosts Brian and Perrine have been very gracious.  We are in a free-standing studio apartment at the back of their garden.  There are lots of windows on 3 sides, so it really feels like we are out in the garden but well-screened from the main house.  The only member of the family we see near our room is the elderly white-haired golden retriever who likes to sleep right outside our door.  Brian drove us to the ferry terminal this morning so we’d know the way.  After Jan mistakenly tried to get into the driver’s seat (that’s the passenger side on our car), Brian took us on a quick tour so we’d know the highlights of this charming community filled with well-maintained and landscaped Victorian & Arts and Crafts style houses and bungalows.  Among other things, we saw what we had missed when we arrived at first light, that we are just a few steps from a beautiful sand beach.  If it gets warm enough, we might try it.

A bus tour seemed about the right level of activity for the day.  A hop-on, hop-off bus took us to “the big 14 attractions” of Auckland.  They covered a broad definition of culture—from the Auckland Museum to New Zealand’s largest shopping mall (a Westfield with 100 stores) to the venue for the 2011 rugby World Cup games.  We hopped off at the Sky Tower to get a map and decided not to stay to watch people bungee jumping from the tower.  We also hopped off for a terrific lunch at the Auckland Fish Market.  Mike was a bit disappointed with his fish taco (good fish, too many refried beans) but enjoyed the Caesar salad.  I loved my grilled fish and vegetables.

Our plan for our first night in New Zealand is to catch up on sleep, so that’s what I’m going to do now.