Well, I'm now quite sure where Wednesday ended and Friday began. Thursday simply did not occur, but that's ok... who needs Thursday anyway. Well, in a nutshells the flights to New Zealand went pretty smoothly. We flew 11 hours to Fiji where we had a 3 hour layover, followed by a 2 and a half hour flight to Auckland NZ.
As it turns out, Air Pacific claims that they are the friendliest airline in the world. They were in fact really very friendly. When we landed in Fiji, they hand a r person band playing local music. It was pretty sweet. Also, the food was really quite good (considering it was airplane food...). What helped pass the time of the all the most was having sat with/met a girl Diana, who is currently living in Auckland. We talked a lot during the flight and a bunch during our layover about different countries of travel, and different outdoors activities.
Well, the next step in events (having now arrived in New Zealand) was finding our way to Whangarei, where we would meet Bruce. We had planned to take a bus, but were having trouble finding where to meet said bus. So, I buckled down and asked for help... WORST DECISION EVER! At the airport I was told to take one bus into Manakau City, and from there take the Intercity Service to Whangarei. This went smoothly until, in Manakau, we were told we needed to get to Auckland to catch the 4 o'clock Northliner to Bruce. We were told which bus to get on to get there, but were told the last stop. Had we gotten off 2 or 3 stops sooner it would have Benn perfect. Instead we had 10 minutes to get an unknown number of blocks back. I pulled out a map I'd found earlier and we started booking it. Luckily, the bus left about 5 ,inutues late AND a few people had canceled. We paid, got on and informed Bruce we'd see him in 2 hours.
Now, despite all this chaos... this country is soooo gorgeous! Everywhere you look there are rolling hills or ocean harbors, cattle fields or clusters of trees. In sections where trees were thick I felt like I belonged in Jurassic Park. Where there were jus rolling fields, I expected Hobbiton just up the road. When we neared the the coast, there were jagged island sticking up until you lost sight in the distance. This is where I met a second interesting person. Her name was Jutta (though I'm hazy on the pronunciation) and she's an older woman from Hamburg Germany. This was her fourth time traveling up to Whangarei from Auckland so gave me MANY useful tips and pointed out many things. She spend most of her time traveling and at home playing folk music, mostly either with the accordion or harmonica. She gave me her card and said if I need a place to stay in Hamburg, to give her a call.
We arrived in Whangarei just as Bruce arrived to pick us up. He drove us to his house where we met his dog and his cats. He gave us a chance to wash and change and then drove us to beach for a walk before dinner. This beach... i'm speechless. The sun was setting over the jagged islands further out in the bay. The sand was warm and smooth, but at either end there was a beautiful rocky outcrop. It had to have been one of, if not the most, beautiful beach scene I'd ever witnessed.
After the walk we went out to dinner in the Marina, where we started with an appetizer of green-lipped muscles (I'd been told they were a food local to NZ). They were SO green, and absolutely delicious! Then I had the fish of the day, I forget the fish but it was served on rice with a coconut curry cause. It hinted at indian food but was very tasty. Bruce had a pork belly and Margaret had an open goat-cheese ravioli. We shared a bit and all were good, but I think mine was best...
We then walked up the marina and back before driving home. It wasn't until I sat in the car that sleep hit me like a brick, and while I fought to stay awake... I remember very little of the drive home...and collapsed in bed.
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