Geo: -41.2929, 174.006Today was a spectacular day in the Marlborough Sound with a sparkling, sunny arrival into Picton Harbour via the narrow Tory Channel and Queen Charlotte Sound between Arapawa Island and the East and West Heads. New Zealand's total population is approximately 4.5M. Half live north of Taipo and Napier, 1.5 in Auckland. Picton gets Australia's weather 3 days later. Wellington, on the north island is to the East of Picton, as the islands overlap and the two are connected by regular ferries. Christchurch is a 5hr drive south. The southern island is a 4 hour drive wide and 12 hr drive long. We noticed that the ferries had single entry and also accommodated trains. The ferry is squeezed into a dock, connoted by the squeal of rubber as it docks, to ensure alignment of ... read more

Geo: -38.1398, 176.247Our first port of call was Tauranga, whose Maori name means Calm Waters - protected by Long Island from open ocean. New Zealand means Long White Cloud, as the Maori had never seen snow and the mountains were covered. The area, including Mt Maunganui and Papamoa with long white sand beaches, is a big retirement community for Auckland and a population of about 118,000. It is New Zealand's busiest port and is in the Bay of Plenty, which was discovered by Captain James Cook in 1769, as he observed it was well populated and looked very fertile.The area was actually discovered around 1350, when the Te Arawa canoe is said to have landed close by at Maketu, further south on the coast, after sailing from Hawaiki (Polynesia) under the command of famous Maori navigator ... read more

Geo: -36.8474, 174.766After a LONG arrival day, Day Two got off to a slower start. Wakeup at 9am local time - noon back home, so time change excuse (NZ is day ahead and 3 hrs behind Vancouver)!! Coffee press in our room - BONUS!!. Tech challenges with the Travel Blog - mobile overwriting web input upon syncing. Email catchup and the like. Before we knew it the morning was by us.We set out across Grafton Bridge to get to other side of the city freeway system and tour the Auckland War Memorial Museum and wander round Auckland Domain (their version of Stanley Park), which is wait for it . . in another volcanic crater! On the other side of the bridge was a small village with a Turkish restaurant where we got fantastic coffee and a ... read more

Geo: -36.8474, 174.766Arrived at 6am. Lost a day in travel/time change. Auckland is 1 day ahead and 3 hrs behind Vancouver. Had a nice drive through the surrounding area on a quiet, sunny, Sunday morning from the airport with a great driver. Turns out he also drove Prime Minister Harper and his daughter, so we felt privileged!.Diverted up an extinct volcano, there are 50 in the region, to Mount Eden - wonderful panoramic views of the area around Auckland. There was a thin fog hanging over the City, but lush green everywhere.The driver was kind enough to catch Bonnie and I in a photo with Auckland in the background and we also saw the home of the All Blacks rugby team - Eden Stadium. We were parked right on the rim of the extinct crater which ... read more

Geo: 49.1632, -123.137Departed on time - 6:30 pm PST. Colin was our flight attendant - a nice bloke from London, who unfortunately was a Chelsea fan :(A very comfortable experience in Business Class Premium. Yes spoiled, but have to treat my bride right for putting up with me for 25 years and it is a 14 hour flight, which is a bit long for a big man!!Watched "This is Where I Leave You", which reminded me, despite their intricacies and idiosyncrasies, how special and funny families are, as well as how much we miss our fathers :(Bonnie indicated afterward that she had seen it previously and was not impressed. I quite enjoyed it! First time in a pod that converted to a bed. Slept for a couple of hours then woke up around midnight and watched ... read more