Kia Ora

Welcome to New Zealand!

I must say the whole travel time went by rather quickly. I also have to admit that I don't mind a lengthy flight because you only really have the excuse to sit on your ass for a 12 hours plus period when you are either extremely obese, about to give birth, or sitting at home with pneumonia (I experienced the ladder early this Fall and wanted to die). I only had the stamina to watch two movies and was, of course, awake for every meal.

My mom and I arrived at 4:30 am and were pleasantly surprised by the ease of customs, baggage and getting a shuttle into town (we had a miserable experience with the same in Vietnam a few years back and haven't quite recovered). After finding out that we couldn't officially check in to our room until 3 pm (may I remind you that it is not yet 6 am) we used the hotel gym bathroom to freshen up and then headed out on our dirty, jet-legged way.

My mom spent some time in Auckland five years back so I was ready for her to be my tour guide, not quite realizing that she has the worst sense of direction in the world. After staggering through the dark streets of Auckland and watching the sunrise to Friday's business men and women, we made our way to the waterfront to have breakfast and mapped out the days plans. We ended up on a ferry to Devonport, where my mom pointed out every single shop, side walk, coffee shop and bathroom she had ever visited. We also made our way to the top of the Sky Tower and watched people jump off. I think the Space Needle needs to get with the program!

The rest of our time so far has been spent walking all over Auckland, Parnell, The Domain, listening to great music (hippies included), drinking flat whites (like a latte but frothier and better, if you ask me) and waiting for The Link buses. I think I've got the city down at this point and am ready to tackle driving on the wrong side of the road tomorrow. We are headed for the Coromandel Pennisula and hoping to score a sweet ride from one of the local rental car agencies. We've been too busy trying the Kiwi beer and wine to make reservations, so tomorrow morning should be interesting. The local Rent-a-Dent is looking promising, however. We may need a 1987 Dodge Caravan to get my giant duffle bag from here all the way down to Wellington.