We’re off to the land of the: Kiwi, the long white cloud, the shaky isles, fush and chups, Un Zud. I don’t want to make a post poking fun at the kiwi accent, so that’s enough immaturity from me. Its always been my dream to visit New Zealand, and I surprised its taken me this long to go. I had spaced-banked a week from our Busselton Beach Resort time share and we had to use it this year. We looked around the world for an available spot. Turangi, New Zealand popped up. It essentially gave us a week in New Zealand for $69. While Turangi is nice, we need to take advantage of what New Zealand has to offer, so we built a vacation around that.

The only one direct flight from Perth to New Zealand is the Auckland run. Its operated by Air New Zealand. I’ve heard great things from Air New Zealand and have never flown with them before, so we booked it. Shortly after I’d booked and paid Air NZ informed us that the are handing the Perth- Auckland leg over to Spanish airline Wamos Air. That was a disappointment, even though they guaranteed the same quality of plane and service.

I tried my trick of trying to get spare seats in between Jane and I selecting seats D and G, leaving seats E and F vacant between us. If this worked Jane and I will have four seat so we can stretch out and get a better sleep. The flight departed Perth at 6.50 pm and arrived seven hours later in Auckland 6.30 am. So, it meant we’d have to try and get some sleep. It worked! We boarded the Wamos Air flight and when they shut the doors we had two unoccupied seats between us. It almost felt like an upgrade.

Wamos Air were quite good. The only fault, if I’m being picky, was the some of the crew’s English was a little poor.

We arrived in Auckland shortly after sunrise. We caught an Uber to our hotel in Epsom. The No 9 Hotel was budget priced but had good reviews and in a good location close to shopping centre and public transport. It also had a carpark, which was needed when we picked up our in a few day’s time. We arrived at the hotel around 8.30 am and waited for the reception to open at 9 am. They allowed us to check-in early (for a fee). Feeling tired from the flight and the time difference, we allowed ourselves an hour nap – which turned out to be three hours.

We walked up to the Newmarket shopping centre for lunch. It was a big (Westfield) centre with a rooftop restaurant area. We had fish and chips at Something and Social and researched how we can get into the city.

There was a train station nearby and we purchased AT HOP cards. This allowed us to tag on and off for all trains and busses in Auckland. It was a short trip into the city by train.

First stop was the Auckland Sky Tower. This 32m structure dominates the city skyline and had viewing levels on floors 51 and 60. It also has several restaurants and bars. There are a couple of activities for the thrill seekers such as the SkyJump, where you actually jump off the tower, and the SkyWalk where you can walk around the outside on a narrow platform. I suggested we do the SkyWalk to Jane, but seeing as she couldn’t even walk on the glass floor panel inside the viewing deck, I think that’s not for us.

The views were indeed spectacular. We sounded off the visit with a martini and signature cocktail in the SkyBar.

Back down on terra firma we saw there was a casino, so we thought we’d try our hand. After about 15 minutes playing roulette, we broke even and called it a day. After walking around the city it was time for dinner choosing a restaurant with an interesting name on the docks with a nice view. Botswana Butchery was very nice with a overly cheerful waitress. Back to the hotel by train rounded out our first day experience in New Zealand.

The next day we awoke late and caught the bus into the city. Back at the dock next to Botswana Butchery we caught the ferry to Waiheke Island. We purchased the return ferry with hop on-off bus service to the island. Waiheke Island is 40 minutes from Auckland. It is around 92 sqkm with a population of almost 10,000 permanent residents. It’s known, amongst other things for its fabulous wineries. On arrival we queued for the bus with the other tourists – mostly loud Americans. We decided to stay on the bus until the farthest point to see the sights along the way. Disembarking at Onetangi Beach we went for a stroll along the beach. Coming back to the bus stop we stopped for a beer and Sauvignon Blanc and Charlie Farley’s. Since falling in love with Malborough Sauvignon Blanc – this is all she’s drinking now. The bus was taking a while to arrive so we shared an ice cream too.

We stayed on the bus for a couple more stops and got off at the Batch Winery for lunch. What a decision that was! The place was specular. We got a table outside with a commanding view over the island with Auckland city in the distance. We sampled their Thomas Sparkling Cuvée Rosé 2023 which as very nice in the surroundings. Jane went back to her Sav Blanc and I tried their Syrah (which is what they call Shiraz). We ordered a large tasting plate for lunch and confirmed in our minds that New Zealand is a pretty special place. Just need to get rid of those annoying loud American tourists. They seem to be following us.

It was getting late so we got on the bus and made our way back to Matiatia terminal and back to Auckland. We got back to the hotel and fell asleep. Perhaps the jet lag is still affecting us …perhaps it’s the wine.

We awoke about 10 pm hungry. Jane remembered seeing noodle house on the way back on the bus, so we walked down and found it open. Jane had beef noodle soup and I had stir fried chicken noodles. No wine this time.

Day three was exciting because we were picking up out hire car. We will be driving south the next day ending up in Wellington seven days later. We took the hour long train and bus trip back to the Airport and collected our 1-2 year old Ford Focus from Ezi Car. Yes, it would have been easier to get the car from day one, but at $220 per day we thought it would be a waste of money. The car was nice and easy to drive. Having wireless Android Auto was a big help. This allowed us to use Google Maps for navigation.

First stop was Oakley Creek waterfall. This proved difficult to find as it was in the middle of a construction site. We joked if we were on the Amazing Race we would have been eliminated this leg. We found the small waterfall nestled amongst the ferns with some kids swimming in the pool below the falls. We then made our way to Mount Eden, an ancient volcano with great 360 degree views of the city.

Dinner was back at Newmarket at the Bavarian. I had a 1 litre stein of Dark Lager, while Jane got her nails done. When she joined me, we shared their Crackling Pork Belly.

Off to Rotorua tomorrow.