The Sky (Towers) The Limit!

Our journey to New Zealand had a number of unexpected delights and one memorable encounter with an officious member of NZ's border control staff. More of that later....

Our departure from Sydney was poignant, leaving by ferry, travelling beneath the Harbour Bridge under blue skies for a final time, mixed in with the morning commuters and arriving in Circular Quay to catch a train to the airport. Before we knew it we were on board an Air New Zealand flight readying ourselves for another take off. Then came the inevitable pre flight safety video. Now normally such an event would not be worth mentioning for fear of lulling the reader into a state of terminal boredom...but Air New Zealand have created a video that's rather special. A Middle Earth themed video with cameos from Gollum and Peter Jackson had me chuckling away. If you plan to fly Air New Zealand anytime soon then await this treat...but otherwise the link below takes you to it :)

An Unexpected Briefing

Our arrival in Auckland was bang on time but the queues to get through security at the Airport were horrendous. Just when we'd made it through to the final check point and x ray machines we were pulled over and asked to unpack our walking boots. New Zealand has very strict bio security rules and you can't bring fresh food in and have to declare if you've got outdoor equipment that's been used outside NZ in the last 30 days. I ticked all the declarations on the arrival form and had dutifully cleaned our walking boots in Ludlow to remove the Shropshire mud. Fortunately the member of staff only wanted to see my boots - which could be rerieved from a seperate compartment at the base of my rucksack. Mrs B had hers under all her clothes and whatever other mysterious items she carries in her rucksack. He then quizzed me about whether I thought my boots were clean..talked about a fine..and implied I'd not declared them! I suggested politely that a) I had declared them and the card in my hand clearly showed this and b) I had cleaned them! He eventually agreed they were 'marginally clean' and agreed to let me and my boots into the country.

Here's the offending boots...feel free to participate in a 'rate the cleanliness of Boote's boots' game...fun for all the family:

Arriving at our city centre apartment the minor irritations of the airport were soon forgotten. We had been lucky to get a top floor studio with balcony and views to the Sky Tower

Over the next two days we pottered around exploring Auckland city centre. The highlight was our trip up the Sky Tower..the tallest free standing structure in the Southern hemisphere. The views from the viewing platform and separate observation deck were stunning. 

Auckland's harbour is one of the other highlights. A place to wander and admire the hundreds of yachts of all shapes and sizes. 

We stumbled across the fish market and up market deli which offered enticing food choices. A sensible decision was taken not to cart fresh fish around Auckland on a hot sunny day...although on second thoughts we might have had the Sky Tower to ourselves!

Our second day took in the Auckland art gallery which had some interesting contemporary New Zealand art and some wonderful Maori portraits.

A reviving coffee in the gallery restaurant bought admiring comments from the young woman who served us..my 'los pollos hermanos' t shirt (a Christmas gift from Sarah Boote) was the focus of her attention. Anyone who is not a fan of Breaking Bad will be completely baffled by this...the only solution I can recommend is watch the whole series..(available on Netflix) but be warned its addictive and very dark.

We also wandered through the streets admiring the small shops, occasional street art and quirky corners.

It had been good to chill out a bit in Auckland and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere but our time to depart was drawing closer. Another laundry wash, packing of rucksacks and final route planning was required before our camper van arrived. It would soon be time to head North!