After a journey of some 8152 miles and 30.5 hours, we arrived in Auckland. The flights from Jacksonville to Chicago, Chicago to LA and LA to Auckland were uneventful. Sitting on your butt for that long not so much. If you ever make the journey, we can't recommend New Zealand Airlines enough. Great airplane, 777, with a class of service called "Premium Economy." Almost as good as business, seats were a little less plush and closer together, but the cabin amenities are nearly as good. Much cheaper as well. After going through numerous checkpoints, Immigration, Customs, etc., we came to the Bio-Hazard check. Seems they take bringing in non-native things like dirt, grass leaves, etc., very seriously. We had to dig to the bottom of our biggest bag and present our four pairs of golf shoes for inspection. Luckily, I had actually washed the soles so as not to drag dirt into our clothing. After very close examination, we were told that they were acceptable. The folks on the Mexican border could learn a few things.
From there we went to the rental car agency and rented our trusty, not new, Nissan Sunny. Luckily, Sunny was able to absorb our four suitcases, two golf bags, a backpack and Becky's "purse." We took rather quickly to driving on the left side of the road. But we did encounter some Kiwi drivers that did not understand that when I turned on the windshield wipers, I was intending to turn. Seems the turn signal lever is the one on the right. With Bec's impeccable navigation skills, and my superior signalling skills we arrived at the house, safe and sound. The house is small but well kept and nicely decorated. Jane, our owner is a most gracious host and came by to insure all was going well. We chatted for the better part of an hour and she was most helpful.
So tonight we attempt to slay the jet lag monster, and tomorrow we are off to acquire more permanent housing. From what little we saw today, Auckland is a gorgeous place!
No comments:
Post a Comment