Auckland here we come. 7am wake-up call and then off to the airport to deal with turning in the car and getting onto a plane at 11:30 for Auckland on Air Zeal 320.
Should be fun!
Well, Internet service is again “sketchy” — works on the phone, but can’t update the blog.
Wake up call 15 minutes early — meant I was out of the hotel before 7:30 and to the airport with the car returned (no up charges) by 8:30 — could have even maybe made the 9:30 flight (rather than my 11:30) but hunger was calling. Had a Donner kebab from the Turkish restaurant (I avoided McD’s today).
Duty free was two litres of real-proof Wild Turkey (that would be 101), plus a little bottle (pint) of Johnny Walker Scotch. Amazing what you can take into other countries! Forgot to mention the chocolate — that would have been a no-no.
Flight uneventful — young Japanese student next to me, plane was full. Nice steak pie lunch with a glass of champagne followed by a nap.
No problems in Auckland — other than immigration going “4 days?” why so short! No EuropCar in the international terminal — that would be calling them and having them pick me up…. time gobbled away changing money and getting my bearings.
Tiny, tinny little Daihatsu — a manual — I forgot I went bottom of the line… new challenges, left hand side of the road — no verbal reminders, and now a stick on the other side.
On the road, finally, 5:30 or 6pm… not good because reading the check-in stuff (while driving)…. reception closes at 6pm — oops, should have read that BEFORE I made the reservations. Thank god that by the time I got there at 9pm (only one switchback due to confusion) the keys were hanging on the caretaker’s door. Next time take the early flight since it’s 3 to 3.5 hours from Auckland.
About the unit. In a word… stunning. 10 foot ceilings on the water. 2 bedroom upstairs, open floor plan downstairs with 42 or 50 inch plasma/LCD. make me want one! Suddenly 32″ isn’t enough.
Watched the Johnny Cash movie and then put on the DVD of This American Life, which previews this spring (I had an advance copy).
Nice to be hear for a couple of days — already sensing I should have just flown back to the states to catch my plane to London.
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