Saturday January 14, 2012, Judith and yours truly arrived in New Zealand. Our plane did land just ahead of schedule on Auckland International Airport. During the flight from Hong Kong to Auckland we met Yvonne, a Scottish lady that we had some nice conversation with. She was travelling with her dad to New Zealand and their hotel was just around the corner from our hostel. We decided to share a cab, which brought down the costs considerably. She still owes us a drink though, which we’ll most probably will get, considering we walked into her two days later as well. We exchanged phone numbers and e-mail addresses and went our separate ways. The rest of Saturday we spent walking through Auckland (further than we planned initially), doing some groceries and finally: sleeping. After nearly 36 hours of travelling (door to door) and pushing it until the evening in Auckland, we were exhausted and went cold out for almost 11 hours.
The next day, Sunday January 15, we did some more exploring through Auckland, some more groceries, but we also spent quite some time online (Judith did watch “Wie is de mol?”). We also spent quite some time sorting out financial problems, that we encountered on Saturday, in Hong Kong and Auckland. Eventhough Judith’s credit card is valid untilthe end of February, it shows up expired. Since English speaking countries thrive on credit cards, this will cause (is causing) quite some problems, for which we were (and are) finding work arounds. It is a pain, especially talking to customer service employers and having to explain your problem over and over again, telling them “I know your system is telling you it is still valid, but all ATMs, shop owners, even the internet tells us it is expired. Get it working!” This drama is still going on, hopefully we can soon report it is solved.
Not being too annoyed or brought down, we spent the next day, Monday January 16, at Waiheke island. This little paradise was truly amazing! We took the “Taste of Waiheke Tour”, which brought us to three vineyards and one estate that produces olive oil. Slightly inebriated, we dipped our feet into the sea at Little Oneroa beach and walked back to the island’s largest town, Oneroa, and had a fabulous dinner. After that, it was time to head back to the ferry and go back to the main land, to our hostel. Being exhausted and in pain (Judith had a sore eye and Bas had a painful leg) we tucked in early again and slept for a good 10 hours, only being woken for a short time by a drunk lady that was thrown out of the hostel and gave away a great show. It reminded us of the good old times in Yellowknife, with the Gold Range Bar and the Raven Pub across the street.
The next day, after having bought a Vodem from Vodafone to ensure we have internet during our trip, we headed to the doctor. Bas’ leg was still sore and the situation had worsened over the last 3 days. So, for the first time since 2009, I found myself in a doctor’s office. Nothing really serious, no trombosis from the long flight, but a nasty infection that needed to be treated with antibiotics, to make sure it would not spread and cause a fever. A costly visit, that fortunately, yet undoubtedly, will be covered by our (travel) insurance. After that visit, we bought a prepaid cellphone (e-mail us for the number), did some groceries and headed back to the hostel. The rest of the day we spent working (Judith) and applying / writing blogs (Bas). My leg needs some rest for the upcoming 2-3 days, so we will go out and see things, yet careful.
And of course: pictures! Enjoy! Cheers!