A Warm Welcome to New Zealand

​The globetrotters have reunited! Upon my arrival at the Nadi airport in Fiji, I was greeted by more than just a ukelele band and a customs agent. Vincent and Rachel, fresh from their Southeast Asia travels, had spent the past days on Fiji and arranged their flights so we would travel to Auckland as a trio. During our airport wait, they brought me into the airport lounge as a guest, and we started catching up over delicious pineapple, papaya, and chia pudding.

​The Fiji Airways planes were very modern, and the movie touchscreens had a delightful feature – a live camera showing the view down from the belly of the plane. While Rachel admired the views through the window, and Vincent chanced a few looks from the middle, I could envision our descent over the Hauraki Gulf even from the aisle seat. The milky blue water, green islands outlined in sand, and friendly clouds were a stunning introduction to Aotearoa, the place we know as New Zealand.

Getting into downtown Auckland was a breeze. The custom kiosk was fully automated, the biosecurity agents had no interest in my granola bars, and our Uber arrived before we could even return the luggage cart. The next 4 nights, we stayed at a studio apartment owned by the mysterious Host Z in the Central Business District (often just the “CBD”). Check-in required a series of lockboxes, electronic fobs, and counter-intuitive doors – thankfully, Vincent and Rachel had studied the check-in instructions carefully. The apartment featured a small but functional kitchen, access to a gym and pool, and a great location on Queen St, a main thoroughfare. Our first adventure was grocery shopping at Countdown, a modern and well-stocked supermarket, complete with a fleet of dystopian self-checkouts that required manual assistance at an alarming frequency. The ingredients were quickly converted into a tasty dinner of coconut curry with tofu.
​
Fueled by a breakfast of cinnamon oatmeal with blueberries, the “Kiwi Trio” took to the streets for our first proper day of exploring New Zealand. We stuck our heads into the modern theater in Aotea Square, strolled through the greenery of Albert Park, and peeked at storefront called Zodiak, a business that helps people turn their property into vacation rentals (perhaps the identity of our mysterious Host Z?) One highlight was the Auckland Art Gallery, where (for free!) we could view a number of works by New Zealand artists, including majestic portraits of notable Maori leaders. The gallery also had some entertaining modern art, like a wall-sized photo we viewed with 3D glasses and a satirical video installation about German forests.

Continuing the walk, we passed the upscale stores of the CBD until we reached the elegant ferry building, a scene that evoked San Francisco. Several wharfs offered good views of the harbor and the city skyline, dominated by the needle-like Sky Tower. In the Wynard Quarter, lively resto-bars with funny names like the “Good Luck Coconut” blasted pop tunes against a backdrop of siloes, shipyards, parklets, and enormous recliner chairs. The last wharf had a fleet of historical yachts with placards explaining their significance, plus a good view of the Harbor Bridge.

Climbing the slope of a presumably volcanic hill, we reached the entrance of Ponsonby Road, a fashionable yet friendly inner-suburb with great restaurants and cheekily named stores like “Murder Burger” and “Deadly Ponies”. We stopped for lunch at a plant-based café called the Little Bird. The hunger from an active day amplified what was already a delicious meal of kimchi-chickpea and Vietnamese pancakes. Tempted by the pastry case, we finished off the meal with a trio of cakes including a chocolate mousse and a key lime pie – our late celebration for Rachel’s birthday, which was earlier in November.

Traversing a hilly green park with enormous playground slides, we headed back into the main part of town towards the Sky Tower. Our attempt to cut through the Sky City casino was unsuccessful, as our passport copies weren’t considered a valid ID to enter the gambling area. We eventually found our way to the entrance and took the elevator up 51 floors to the observation deck.

The panorama from the Sky Tower was incredible! The bay was a spectacular collage of islands, harbors, bridges, and boats. A group of black-sailed boats slowly moved across our field of view like a dozen shark fins. Closer by, a pedestrian bridge was raised and lowered as yachts returned for the day, and a skyscraper crane supplied the construction crew on the rooftop below. The view was distant enough to be sweeping, while close enough to spot the little details. The illusion was only punctuated by the occasional flash of an orange jumpsuit as the cable-guided Sky Jumpers whizzed past and descended out of sight.

Another evening, another home-cooked meal. Mushroom and kale pasta hit the spot after our lap around the city. After a few too many charcuterie packs in Europe, it was nice to “take a leaf” from Rachel and Vincent and embrace their plant-based diet. The apartment included access to a gym and pool, so I went for a little swim.

On Saturday, we joined the masses lined up at the ferry terminal. Destination: Waiheke Island! As the boat picked up speed and the wind intensified, many view-seekers took refuge in the decks below, but we stayed upstairs and watched the Auckland skyline disappear into the ferry’s wake. On Waiheke, we set forth on a lovely coastal hike that connected several beautiful bays. The trailhead was right next to the ferry terminal, and the crowd quickly vanished once we stepped onto the barnacle-encrusted beach. The color palette was remarkable – milky blue waters below, lush green hills above, brown and orange rocks in between. While the amazing views encouraged us to slow down, the joy of rounding each turn and catching a glimpse of the next yacht-studded bay encouraged us forward.

The birds warbled above, a joyful song celebrating the lack of predators on the island. Conservationists have made a concerted effort to eliminate non-native predators like stoats, setting poison traps all around the island and running a public ad campaign asking citizens to report stoat sightings. Giant “wanted” posters with pictures of stoats were plastered on billboards and buses – notorious outlaws. The hike ended at Oneroa, a flat and wide beach. We sat at some open chairs and munched on PB&Js.

​Our ticket included access to a Hop On/Off bus that connected all the major sites on this otherwise sparse island. We rode from Onera to another noteworthy beach called Onetangi. We soaked in the great weather and strolled its length. Alongside us were fellow visitors, frolicking dogs, red-billed seagulls, and oystercatchers (a black bird with a long orange beak). Live acoustic pop music from the neighboring restaurant was our soundtrack while we dusted the sand off our bare feet.

​From the second floor of the double-decker tour bus, we enjoyed the scenery and the guide’s jokes as the vehicle strained up a tall hill towards Batch Winery. There, I “dropped off” Vince and Rachel for wine tasting with a panoramic view, then starting hiking downhill into the sub-tropical forest for a little extra mileage. Mixed into the canopy were towering silver ferns, the unofficial symbol of New Zealand, which looked like palm trees on steroids. A side loop trail took me to a pleasant stream, while the main trail led down to a beach that was closed to protect the nests of the endangered New Zealand dotterel, a cute shorebird. It was a steep and muddy hike from the beach back to the winery.

​To end our Waiheke day trip on a high note, we did a tasting at Mudbrick Winery, a popular and scenic spot looking towards Auckland. The tasting flight was a solid lineup featuring pinot gris, sauvignon blanc, rose, and syrah. The sauvignon blanc was my favorite, and I enjoyed a follow-up glass in the late afternoon sun. A pair of ducks wandered from table to table, amusing until they snapped at you. We caught the last bus, which was synchronized to the ferry departures, and soon found ourselves back in Auckland along with a flock of tipsy tourists.

After two full days of sightseeing, we took Sunday as a rest and recharge day. Rachel headed off to LA to get her passport renewed, while Vincent and I stayed at the apartment, catching up on digital chores. We sauteed some red “oca” yams for lunch (from South America but popular in New Zealand), went to the gym together, and meal prepped large quantity of pasta. With these marathon journeys, the rest days are an equally important feature of the itinerary.
​
Auckland and Waiheke were a brilliant start to the trip. Of course, the sunny weather played a large part. We thought Auckland was very clean and modern, but also had personality. And on Waiheke, it was so unique to have easy access to both world-class hiking and world-class vineyards on a single scenic island.