Afternoon/Evening of Day 3
Since we didn't make our scheduled harbor cruise at 1:00 p.m. we had a little free time to walk to our hotel, freshen-up a little, then walk down the street to find some local fare for lunch. We sisters decided on a Kebab Café, which is similar to a Subway with all the veggie/meat choices, however a kebab is made on large thick flat bread that is filled, rolled/folded, and then grilled like a Panini. The cost is $9.00! I chose a falafel kebab with lost of veggies inside. (Falafel is a round fried vegetarian patty.) Jeanne chose a dory fish dinner from the café next door to the Kebab Café and we all enjoyed our lunches while sitting at a sidewalk table.
....
my falafel kebab..
...Jeanne's dory fish plate..
...and of course for dessert we stopped at the Gelato shop.....Yummee!
We walked back to the Pier to board a boat where we will cruise the sparkling waters of Auckland's beautiful Waitemata Harbor and learn about the city's best-loved landmarks with full commentary from a knowledgeable crew. Highlights include views of the Harbor Bridge, the city skyline, Devonport's historic naval base, Bean Rock Lighthouse and panoramic views of Rangitoto Island.
This is the most unusual architectural design, welcoming cruise ship passengers to Auckland.
We will be going to the top of this Sky Tower later today.
There are acres and acres with thousands of containers reminding us that New Zealand is an island nation so all goods must come by ship or by plane with the majority of everything coming by ship.
The sisters enjoying a sunny day cruise!
Hundreds of New Zealanders own their own boat so there are many marinas dotting the water's edge.
...a volcanic island.
Dry grasses cover the rolling hills.
...more sailboats!
Our cruise takes us under the Harbor Bridge.
A fascinating (recycled?) all metal building on the waterfront.
No matter how far away we got we could still see Sky Tower. Our hotel is at its base.
A unique cover on a small travel trailer (promoting excursions)!
...and across from it a public space with sculptures and gigantic wooden loungers.
At dusk, we ride the elevator up to the 51st floor of Sky Tower where we walk around the enclosed observation deck and take in the views of Auckland, the surrounding waters, and beyond.
....
the Harbor Bridge that we went under while on our Harbor Cruise this afternoon.
I decided it sort of looked like a Lego land....
We then took the elevator on up to the 60th floor (as far as we could go) but the views were pretty much the same.
...the sisters high above Auckland.
After buying postcards (50 cents each) and International postcard stamps ($2.00 each) in the gift shop at the base of the Sky Tower, I decided I had had all the fun I could stand for one day and I headed up to our hotel room, showered, and pretty much fell asleep immediately. I'm not sure what everyone else did (I think my roommate, Jeanne, went out to dinner) and I didn't care because it felt so good to "get horizontal" on a comfy bed and get my much needed beauty rest.
We had asked Holiday Vacations (when we first booked this trip) for adjoining hotel rooms (with a door between) however it was not to be. Norma and Donna were at the other end of the hallway from Jeanne and me. Oh well, maybe at our next hotel (in Rotorua) it will happen.
Sunday March 9th
Following a year of anticipation and excitement, we are really on our way to New Zealand! We, being my (older) sister Norma, my Saddlebag friend Jeanne, and I will be flying from DFW to LAX where we will meet up with my (younger) sister Donna {who flew from Billings, Mt./via Denver to LAX} and the rest of our Tour Group {who flew in from all across the U.S.} headed by Jeremy Hundt, our Holiday Vacations Tour Director. I know traveling as a group is not everyone's "cup of tea", however after traveling with Norma to Ireland in 2012 with Holiday Vacations, I love it! All we have to do is pack our bags and head to the nearest airport to our home and Holiday Vacations takes care of all the rest, including airfare, transfers, hotels, gratuities, most meals, fascinating excursions, local driver/guides, all the little details involved in traveling abroad. This makes for a carefree and happy vacation!
My wonderful, caring, long-suffering husband Tom spent his day off taking Norma, Jeanne, and me to DFW, then kept Norma's vehicle at our house while we were gone for 20 days saving us the $10 per day parking fee at DFW, and Tom will switch his days off so he will pick us up at DFW when we return. I can never thank Tom enough for all he does for me, especially being my support team for the long seven months while I was hiking the A.T. As we kissed goodbye this time he said "I'm sure glad you won't be gone seven months this time". What a sweetheart and how lucky I am that he is my husband!
BooBoo is not about to be left behind! She is ready for an adventure in the land down under!
The day has finally arrived. Tom has just dropped us off at DFW.
Now we sit and wait (with all our water bottles).
Our flight from DFW to LAX is only 3-4 hours.
Arriving at LAX (an enormous complex) we make our way to a shuttle which takes us to the International Terminal.
There we board an Air New Zealand flight bound for Auckland, N.Z. That flight is 13 hours! In flight we will cross the International Dateline (losing a whole day) therefore arriving in Auckland on Tuesday morning.
It is wonderful to meet up with Donna at LAX. I haven't seen her in over a year. We also meet Jeremy, our Tour Director, along with the rest of our tour group.
Our Air New Zealand plane is a jumbo jet (ten seats across) and I have to say their level of service is great. The seats are comfy with enough leg room, with blankets, pillows, headsets/movies, drinks, dinner and breakfast all complimentary. But that still does not negate the fact that we will be on that plane for 13 hours! The longest flight I have ever taken! I took my friend Sue's advice and took two Advil PM when I got on the plane in L.A. so I was able to sleep for several hours between dinner service and breakfast service which made a huge difference in how I felt on Tuesday in Auckland.
There's my sister Donna (some of our tour group in background), smiling and happy to be on vacation!
...and there is the plane we flew across the Pacific Ocean on.
"The sisters" and Jeanne in the Auckland airport.
...this means "Exit"!
Auckland is the largest Polynesian city in the Southern Hemisphere. Remember their seasons are the opposite of ours. March, April, May is their Autumn so right now lots of green and pretty flowers abound in any landscape that gets enough water. (They are experiencing drought conditions similar to our Texas climate.)
Our Tour Director, Jeremy, leading our group from the airport terminal to our awaiting motor coach.
...very pretty landscaping on the roundabout....
This is Chris, our driver/guide for our first few days. He grew up in New Zealand and is very knowledgeable and also humorous in his narration as we travel from the airport to the harbor. I love it that he can't talk without using his hands!
These are New Zealand's norfolk pines......
.....my sisters, relaxed and happy!
.....a very photogenic bird!
Auckland is a major cruise ship destination.
We get to the pier (about five minutes late) for our scheduled 1:00 p.m. harbor cruise just in time to see the boat pulling away from the pier. Our tour director Jeremy is cool, calm, and collected as we go to plan "B", which is to walk the three blocks to our hotel and get settled in and come back to the pier later for the 3:00 p.m. harbor cruise.
Interesting architecture along the waterfront.
7 Marts are similar to our 7 Elevens.....
...and this young man is napping right on the sidewalk, with his cap laid out hoping to collect some money...
We arrive at the SkyCity Hotel, our lodging for two nights. This modern and spacious hotel features a casino, more than 25 restaurants, cafes and bars, a theatre, free live entertainment on selected nights and the iconic Sky Tower, where we'll enjoy a complimentary Sky Tower pass to the main observation deck during our stay.
Oh boy, that is a long way to the top!
...a beautiful lobby area in our hotel!
...this creation is embedded in the floor of the lobby.
...a mesmerizing water wall and fountain.
...good exercise to utilize the staircases.
..and we loved the spaciousness of our rooms with all the amenities we could possibly need.
This has seemingly been such a long "day", since we left our home in Texas at midday on Sunday and it is now midday on Tuesday here in Auckland and we have yet to actually get horizontal for a "good night's sleep"! I know I napped on the long flight over the Pacific however that does not replace a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed.
My next blog post will cover the afternoon/evening of our first day in Auckland!
All last week we were basking in the nice weather we were having with temperatures climbing to 80 degrees by Saturday! It made us feel like Springtime is just around the corner! We slept Saturday night with the bedroom window open and enjoyed the nice south breeze flowing thru the window screen............ahhhhhhh.
As we woke up on Sunday morning we realized the southerly breeze had ended, replaced with a blustery wind out of the northwest! Unbelievably it was 34 degrees! What happened to that 80 degree sunshine we enjoyed yesterday? Wow, it is definitely back to bitterly cold winter weather, overnight! Not just cold and windy, add thunder and lightning and heavy freezing rain!! Ice is forming immediately on the lawn, the road, everything!
At first it was just a slight thin coating of ice pellets....
The road iced over very quickly, preventing me from going in to work (for another associate) from 4-8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
When the thunder and lightning began the freezing rain/ice pallets came down even harder......
totally obliterated our stone walkways......covering the deck.....
it's a winter wonderland!
but I don't like winter!
the lush green winter rye grass in our backyard park peaking thru the icy glaze......
the brown grass in the hay meadows is too tall to be totally covered.....
This morning I carried two small buckets of hot water out to "Tex's" water tub to help melt the thick coating of ice that had formed on the surface of his water.........
birds are out everywhere pecking thru the ice looking for food.....
Tex has small dirty icicles hanging from the long hair on his side......
The road in front of our house has a thick icy coating so Tom is not going in to work today either......
I know this looks like snow however it is not. It is ice and is quite slippery and treacherous to walk across.......I took baby steps, very carefully to go outdoors to take care of my horse this morning.....
We have so much to be grateful for today---and everyday! We are grateful for our little cozy abode, a wood stove to keep us warm, electrical power and running water! I am so grateful that this winter storm came this weekend and not next weekend when my sisters and I, along with one of my girlfriends are flying to Auckland, N.Z. to begin our 20-day tour of Australia/New Zealand. (We probably would have faced airport delays or cancelled flights for sure if our flights were scheduled for this past weekend!) So as I said we have so much to be grateful for---thank you Lord for your abundant goodness in our lives!
