New Zealand: Day 1

It took 2 flights and 22 hours in the air to travel the approximately 10,000 miles (16,000km) from Boston to New Zealand via San Francisco. We left Boston on a Thursday afternoon, and touched down in Auckland around dawn Saturday.

The domestic flight, Boston to San Francisco, was on United; cattle car seating with stroopwafels and watery cokes. Ugh.

The international leg was with Air New Zealand, and it was truly excellent. We had “premium economy” seating, which I had thought was airline-speak for “slightly less sucky,” but which actually turned out to be at least as nice as many long-haul business class flights I’ve taken.

Our flight had comfortable seating (decent legroom, plus extending/elevating leg rests), attentive service, free satellite internet access, lots of entertainment options and — surprise! — really, really good food.

After dinner on the outbound flight, we used the provided sleep gear (toothbrush, earplugs, eyeshades, blanket, etc.) and slept most of the way across the Pacific, until roused by the hot breakfast service.

We landed at 5AM local time — pre dawn on a late summer morning in New Zealand — and managed to make our way to the nearby hotel I’d booked.

I’d chosen a near-airport hotel — the Naumi Auckland — because I had no idea how we’d feel after the very long flights. Assuming we’d be dead tired, I’d opted for something easy to get to, where we could crash and recover from the flights, before we joined a scheduled tour the next day.

Turned out we weren’t all that tired after the flight, but the hotel was a treat anyway, a cut well above most airport hotels I’ve stayed in previously.

By late morning, were in the room and getting ourselves organized.

That afternoon, and feeling the need for physical movement, we explored a small nature preserve behind the hotel. I gotta say, walking felt good, after a day strapped into airline seats.

The scenery was gorgeous, too, especially on towards sunset when, for a few fleeting minutes, the slanting light made everything look like a Hollywood CGI effect.

Here’s a few more pix:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/aTzXZNQVyCKrhPeC9

At day’s end, we went to bed early (by local time) so we’d be ready to join the week-long “Adventure Tour” we’d signed up for, the next morning.

That’s when the fun would really start: A small-group guided tour of the North Island with hiking, cave walks, geothermal parks, an overnight in a rural Maori family lodge, an afternoon in Hobbiton, a sunset sail on a caldera lake, a bungy jump, a zip line, and a few other interesting stops along the way.

Week 2 of our trip would be self-guided, and on the South Island. But that’s for later. First things first.

(To be continued)

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