New Zealnd Bound!

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!