We made it!

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18 February 2006
We made it to New Zealand, in one piece - with our luggage! We left San Francisco on Thursday afternoon the 16th and traveled for just over 24 hours and arrived in Auckland on Saturday afternoon the 18th - just where those missing 24 hours went is totally beyond me - but that’s what happens when you cross the date line - poof! -24 hours are gone.

19 February 2006, Auckland New Zealand

We have had a great day. We started off at the Kelly Tarltons- the aquarium. There we got to see real live penguins, sharks, sting rays and lots of other fish. The aquarium is actually almost completely underground - plus there is a moving conveyor belt which takes you into and under the shark tanks, sting ray tanks and a snowcar ride to see penguins.
Then we went to the Auckland museum which was wonderful. We saw a Maori cultural performance of song and dance, including a conk shell blower, and poi- ball dancers. After that we took the ferry to Devonport which is a cute suburb across the “harbour bridge” which had a very “resort” feeling to it. We walked to the top of Mt. Victoria, an old volcano which was used as bunkers during World War I. They were having a food and wine festival there, but with a cover charge of $25, we decided to pass.
The New Zealanders are the friendliest people I have ever experienced. Everyone greets you and is happy to answer questions - as different from Norwegians as possible. Just passing you on the street, they all say hello, and we have found nice people to chat with everywhere - sitting at the top of Mt. Victoria, the old volcano, we met a nice couple, who talked and talked. On the ferry back we met people who talked. Watching the bungy (coming to that) ride, we met people who talked. We had dinner tonight at a steak restaurant, and you can all imagine that Gunnar enjoyed it. When the waitress took away the clean plates, her remark was: “You did really well; the chef will be pleased”. Where else would you hear that?
We are in the home of bungy jumping. Right next door to our hotel is a bungy ride. There is a swinging seat, holding up to three people, sitting and harnessed. It starts at ground level, and then pulls you dramatically up, very quickly, and then you rather bounce your way down. We watched, along with a nice Dutch couple, two groups tonight take the plunge. They loved it - we are definitely too old -
Tomorrow it is on to Christchurch.

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