New Zealand: Last Day/Auckland

After a good night’s sleep and breakfast at Naumi, (see previous New Zealand posts), we checked out of the room, left our bags with the bell staff, and Uber’ed into Auckland for a day of pleasant, touristy sightseeing.

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We started at the Sky Tower, which offered sweeping 360-degree views from two different levels, as small rainshowers passed by.

There’s a pseudo-bungy jump from near the top — but it’s actually a controlled descent mechanism with guy wires and a mechanical braking system to stabilizer the “jumper” and prevent (rather than allow) free fall.

But the descent is fast, and it’s probably fun in its own way. Video clip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dNhfQXTyo65FFjiW6

You also can take a tethered stroll around on a catwalk near the top.

The rest of the afternoon we walked around the harborside, had lunch in a waterside pub, watched some kind of very high-spirited drag-queen contest spill out of a different bar onto the quays, and generally just enjoyed the city.

More pix: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JUQUqo9o8s5MtU3q6

Late in the afternoon, we Ubered back to Naumi, retrieved our bags, and then took a Yellowbus to the airport.

The long, overnight Air New Zealand flight to San Francisco was as good as the outbound flight had been: comfortable seats for sleeping the night away, good food and drink for dinner and breakfast, and plenty of entertainment options.

The cross-country United flight from SF to Boston was as mediocre as the outbound United flight had been. Oh boy, more Stroopwafels.

There was more date line weirdness: Although we left New Zealand at about 7PM on a Sunday, we arrived in Boston, after 20 hours in the air, at 10PM the same day. 🙂

In all, it was a helluva trip.

Tomorrow: Trip wrap-up.

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