New Zealand has been on the list for so long, it is quite embarrassing. Our biggest challenge was to determine how long we should allocate to New Zealand. With 18 time zone changes, travel alone takes time. The easiest way to grasp the time zone change is to think of travel to New Zealand as the same as Europe (6 hours ahead) but you miss a day. This still causes me some confusion, but if I hold my head at a slight angle, I can usually figure it out. Nickie is of the opinion that I should IGNORE the time change and adjust to the current time. Not very likely!
Outbound travel was exciting, but not in a good way. Our itinerary was to fly from Pearson (YYZ) to Chicago (ORD) with 1 time zone change and an hour layover before flying to Dallas (DFW). Then a 75 minute layover before flying to Auckland (AUK). Travel time was from 16:44 on Wednesday until 16:10 on Thursday (times in EST). We flew with American Airlines, although the leg from YYZ to ORD was on their affiliate carrier American Eagle. Yes, something always happens to me when I fly, but seriously? I could not check in online and was instructed to check in at the airport. No problem, I guessed that having 3 flights was the reason. Nope! When we tried to check in at the airport, we were told that we needed a visa before they would check us in. What? Since when? I mentioned to the person at the check-in counter that Canadians do not need a visa to visit New Zealand. No matter, no visa, no check-in. We quickly submitted a visa application online. There are 3 options: normal (10 days), fast (up to 18 hours) and ludicrously quick (under 2 hours). We selected the fastest option, as our plane departed in 3 hours. 2 hours later (we were slightly late for check-in) and $600 out of pocket, we were checked in. After going in circles for 2 weeks, American Airline would not even acknowledge that their policy is wrong. Even the person at customs in New Zealand told us we did not need a visa. Here's the catch. Americans need a visa to visit New Zealand, not Canadians. Thanks American Airlines.
Travel tip: Don't fly American Airlines.
We landed in Auckland after being up (tragically short naps on flights don't count) for 34 hours. Time to drive on the wrong side of the road! Fortunately, we had booked a room near the airport, so driving on the left side for the first time was for only 20 minutes. I should mention that I never drove on the right side while in New Zealand, although I incorporated a pre-drive mental ritual where I thought very hard about what not to do in order to stave off dying.
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| Many Waterfalls! |
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| Surfs up! |
We planned to visit the north island for 1 week and 2 weeks on the south island. With travel, the trip was a total of 23 days. We saw quite a few iconic sights, but to say we cover most of the hot spots in 3 weeks is ludicrous. New Zealand has an inordinate number of beautiful vistas. I don't think the locals have seen them all. Did I mention that the hiking is epic?
We stayed in 9 different spots: Karaka, Raglan, Rotura, Tauranga, Auckland, Christchurch, Omarama, Te Anua and Queenstown. Due to domestic flights, we stayed in Christchurch and Auckland on 2 occasions each. Yes, I have a spreadsheet for the trip, why would you ask such apparent question?
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| Hiking along the ridge |
Hiking on the north island was indeed challenging. We actually turned back on one hike. The hike started with a steep climb up a mountain, followed by a traverse along a ridge. On either side of the meter wide ridge was about a 400 meter drop-off. It might have been more, but I was disinclined to verify the actual extent of the cliff. After negotiating the ridge for an hour (it seemed longer) we arrived at a steep slope (roughly 60 degree) that was covered in roots and slick mud. To make it much safer, someone had installed a heavy chain, with which we could pull ourselves up the slope. Falling would result in a fast drop down the slope, then launching out over the 400 meter cliff. We decided to turn back.
Other hikes were gentler and easier, but still incredibly beautiful. It was also a treat to experience longer days, with sunsets scheduled for about 8:00 PM.
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| Rose garden |
The food was quite good. Restaurant meals were a bit expensive ($40 NZD for mains) but not much worse than Canadian prices, once the exchange rate and lack of tipping were factored in. Wine pricing was also similar to Canadian prices, but there seemed to be less of a mark-up in the restaurants. Gas was more expensive ($2.50 NZD per litre) but we lucked out at the car rental, so not as shocking at the pumps. The car rental company had a backlog of vehicles to clean and there were about 12 customers waiting for their car. Once cars became available, they were quickly issued to waiting customers, independent of what we had requested. We were given a small hybrid, which was quite miserly in its fuel consumption.
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| Beach! |
The south island was, not surprisingly, also very beautiful. The hiking trails all seemed to have incredible vistas or points of interest. We watched as they poured soap into a geyser (I kid you not!) that resulted in a 10 meter eruption. We watched surfers and people riding electric hydrofoils and witnessed an avalanche. Too cool!
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| A LONG tunnel on a hike |
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| Beautiful |
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| Wild terrain |
Soon it was time for our flight from Christchurch to Auckland. The next day we boarded our flight to Toronto.
Overall, New Zealand is well worth the prolonged travel. I think we saw enough that returning will be doubtful. 30 hours travelling gets old as we get old.
Next: Dominican Republic with my family. We are also planning a trip to Mexico with Nickie's family. These blog entries will have to wait as we just booked a trip to Nicaragua, departing in 5 days.
Cheers!
