Kia Oro

Leaving Victoria: Marion, Wendy and Judy

    Going into passport control

A very long flight from Victoria to Vancouver to Auckland with over 14 hours in the air brought us into Auckland at 5:05am Friday morning having totally passed over Thursday.  Our first flight using Air New Zealand was pleasant.  But trying to sleep sitting upright never works well no matter who you fly with.  The food was pretty good with attentive and pleasant service crew.  However, arriving so early in the morning made for a very long day that seemed to stretch on forever when we were sleep deprived.  Luckiy for us we could check into our hotel room when we arrived at 6:15am.  After getting organized we headed out for a second breakfast (the first was served around 4:30am onboard).

Eggs Benedict New Zealand style.  Similar to Cdn style but more expensive.  So far everything has been more expensive.  But it hit the spot.  We walked in downtown area until the rain became very heavy, so we headed back to hotel for a much needed nap.  By 3pm the 3 of us felt rejuvenated and we headed out again for a wander down to the waterfront.  Lots of old buildings mixed up with very modern buildings.

The Skytower is a huge tourist attraction in Auckland.  You can walk around an open platform roped up and then jump off - bungee style.  We decided to forgo that and wander around at ground level!!! Only because of the price of course.

We ended our wander with wine down on the waterfront.  New Zealand Sauvignon blanc, $11.00 glass.  But the ambiance was worth it. 

We had dinner at a tapas bar.  Really really good but no picture - sorry, too hungry.  Tomorrow will be a new day with more sunshine than rain we hope.  No worries!