Arrival in Auckland

In the distance is "One Tree Hill", made famous outside of New Zealand by the U2 song of the same name (also later a CW show).  All of the hills in Auckland are dormant volcanoes and sacred sites for the Maori people.

We made it!  After many, many hours on a plane or an in airport (complete with a Russell Brand sighting at LAX), we arrived bright and early in Auckland.  Since our bodies were very confused about what day it is, the early arrival wasn't a huge deal.  Jet lag would kick us in the butt later in the day though.

We were graced with sunny, warm(ish) weather for our first day in Auckland, so we took advantage of it by walking around Queen Street, the Britomart district (where our hotel is) and K Street, as well as going up the 1000+ ft Skytower for some amazing views of the Auckland region.  We also saw some folks base jumping off the tower as well as walking around the outside of it (tethered).  Since I could barely get near the edge of the very solid windows, we all opted not to try those adrenaline-rush adventures.

For the afternoon, we ferried over to Devonport, a cute suburb just across the bay.  Walked around, enjoying the shops, views of the cities, and well known chocolate shop (and I learned that the hokey pokey IS what it's all about in New Zealand - honeycomb toffee ice cream and/or chocolate - delicious).  Stumbled upon a tapas-style happy hour special for an early dinner, and then caught the ferry back to Auckland complete with a spectacular cityscape nighttime view. 

We were all happily in our PJs by 7:30, ready to finally indulge our jet lag after a fun but very long day in Auckland.  Next up in Auckland:  finding the more charming neighborhoods (their Central Business District near our hotel is, well, business-y and not super charming) and an underwater sea adventure.