Let the adventure begin! New Zealand

Well, in spite of all the attempts by United Airlines to make this trip memorable in the wrong ways, we arrived in New Zealand and so far, it’s beautiful! The people couldn’t be nicer and the landscape is simply awesome.

We arrived early in the morning and found the free showers (yes, FREE!) in the airport and did a quick freshen-up. Amazing what a little warm water and soap can do after a 15hr flight. The flight, by the way, was pretty good. Not because United did anything pleasant but because we researched and selected the best seats in Economy Plus. Passed on the rubber chicken dinner and elected for a vodka – cranberry to wash down 2 Advil PM tablets and actually managed to get about 6-7hrs sleep.

Auckland airport is quite nice, several shops and a food court like most airports. Had a quick bite and a beer, it was almost 11am so why not, and then back on our flight to Nelson. This was to be our first home in NZ and we were a little anxious to get there and relax.  In the meantime, I did my usual prepping for the rental car battle yet to come….

Named after Admiral Horacio Nelson, the town was founded in 1841 (proclaimed a city in 1858) and has a population around 50,000. The Maori called this area, “Whakatu” meaning build, raise or establish. It’s a coastal town with a working harbor and is close to Abel Tasman National Park, which makes it a perfect jumping off spot for exploring the park. That’s on Monday.

All About New Zealand was the car rental agency and I was fully prepared to make a scene if they tried to push more insurance on me. Damn, checked in and got the car with almost no conversation at all! Guess I’ll have to take out my aggression on someone else. (No, not the wife!) Loaded up the Ford Tilda that had a mere 119,942 well-cared-for miles on it and off to our rental home.

Easy drive to the house, about 20 minutes, but we elected to hit the grocery store first. Stopped at “Countdown” and loaded up with staples, coffee, eggs, sausage, bread, coffee, wine, coffee, wine, etc. Headed back to the house and met the owner who showed us around the place. Very nice and just as advertised which is always a question when renting from a picture. Unpacked, got a glass of wine and now, we’re here!  Tomorrow we plan to hit the Farmer’s Market downtown and catch the Free Trade performances by the cathedral stairs. (The owner of our house is performing so we thought we’d check it out)

The house we rented overlooks the working harbor and it really made me feel like I was back working again. Standing on the deck, I could see all those people moving about, lifting things, pushing things, moving and working hard. It made me realize that I could still watch people working and not get the least bit tired. I did refrain from shouting out directions on how they should do their jobs, guess I am retired!

First day down, 28 to go before heading to Thailand.  BTW- temperature is around 75-80F with a mild breeze!