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December 1st 2006

Published: December 29th 2006

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Kickinitkiwi

Sky Tower

View from our hotel room.

We are settling into life in New Zealand quite comfortably, thanks in the most part, to Dennis' brother Paul and his girlfriend Sally. Having a place to stay and lots of resources have made getting "set-up" much easier. And it's always nice to have the feeling of family around. So, while we were staying with them, we spent some time getting acquainted to our new city. This was easy since Nissan let Dennis have his company car 2 weeks before he even started! We were quite happy driving around in a 2007 X-Trail! We also discovered "Movember" where all guys for the month of November grow out their facial hair however they want...and they do it to raise money for prostate cancer. Similar to shaving your head for cancer at home. So Dennis had a little bit of a late start...but his movember wasn't too bad. Some of them were AWFUL-haha.
We spent quite a bit of time downtown (or CBD-Central Business District as it is referred to) is really great. We spent a night in a really nice hotel right across from the Sky Tower and Casino. We had a great view of the tower from our room.

View from room

There's lots to see and do in the CBD. Everything you would expect from a big city. Also right in the CBD is the Viaduct which is where Auckland hosts the America's Cup for sailing. It lines the whole waterfront and is jam-packed with all the best restaurants, bars and clubs. It's a lot of fun and where we are planning on spending our New Years.
A short ferry ride from the Viaduct is Devonport...which is a suberb of Auckland that can be reached by land, but it's faster and more fun to go via ferry. We spent a day touring around that area...found a pub that serves more New Zealand beer on tap than any pub in New Zealand. There's also the old forts and battle stations, which are on 2 mountains (well large hills) and are inter-connected by a system of tunnels. We didn't have time to see those, we'll wait and go with some of our guests when they get here.
We've also eaten a lot of great food since being here. Paul knows a lot of good restaurants and has taken us to several...including The Secret Thai Garden. You'd swear when you walk through

Sunset from room

the gates, into the garden, that you are in Thailand. Very Impressive, and the food is unbelievable. Thai and East Indian food here are way more popular than at home. There's all kinds of restaurants, take-aways, deliveries and at least 2 of each in every food court.
Yes, so far, Auckland is treating us well. We can't wait to get settled in to our "flat". We move in December 16th! Just in time for Christmas. Hope all is well at home!

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