For those of you who don't know, New Zealand is that bit of island Southeast of Australia and is about 6,500 miles across the Pacific from California.
So, as you may be able to guess, it takes a long time to get there. About 12 hours to be exact. We began our journey in LA at approximately 10pm on December 23rd and we arrived in Auckland at approximately 7am on Christmas Day (skipping a day as we crossed the universal date line). In between, food was eaten, many movies were watched, and a couple hours of sleep were managed. I honestly can't remember much of the flight, apart from feeling very cramped and uncomfortable and being exceedingly tired pretty much the whole time, but I do remember the sunrise.
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| The Maori name for New Zealand is "Aotearoa" which means "the land of the long white cloud" |
Sunrise, as seen from a plane, is pretty spectacular. I mean, a sunrise is beautiful to begin with, but when you're above and below clouds, with the sun just barely peaking out in between, it's just so ethereal. The clouds below taken on the appearance of great mountains and swirling seas, and the sun seems as though it's resting just below the horizon instead of above.
While the clouds were beautiful and made for spectacular views from the plane, they also meant stormy weather, and when we finally landed, it was raining. Exiting the gate at Auckland, a bunch of J's rellies - dressed in reds greens and funny hats suiting the holiday - were waiting to take us to the hotel, where they had reserved a room so that we could freshen up for breakfast/brunch. Brunch was a rush of meeting and eating. I met some of J's cousins as well as aunts and uncles, only one of which I had met previously, so it was a bit overwhelming. All was made better with food - and I must say, if this kind of complementary breakfast is the norm in NZ, I will definitely be returning. There were eggs, muffins, waffles, pancakes, bacon and sausage, a plethora of fruits, and even tater tots! We also each got a party popper (the kind that you split apart and there's a prize in the middle), which was fun and apparently a big thing among J's rellies.
Too soon, it was time to pack up again to catch our flight out to Tauranga, where we would be spending the rest of the trip. We said our goodbyes and hopped on a tiny plane for a much shorter flight (20 minutes) to our final destination. J's grandparents picked us up and drove us, luggage and all, to their home.
After getting unpacked and settled, we took a trip to the local store to stock up on food and drink. I was quickly introduced to some of J's mum's favorite foods, many of which would become everyday staples of our vacation diet. The most commonly consumed food on our trip was the potato top pie, which is exactly what it sounds like: a beef pot pie topped with mashed potatoes instead of pastry (. The other was a pavlova, something I had heard of but had no concept of taste or appearance. A pavlova, as best as I can think to describe it, is an extremely light cake/meringue-type dessert (think Angel Food cake but even more airy and sweet) that was served with fruit or whipped cream or both. I can't say I'll be going out of my way to find either of these foods anytime soon, but they are worth a try.
The best part of every meal? The view! Bordering the dining room are windowed doors that lead out to the wrap-around balcony, which has a gorgeous view of the bay as well as Mount Maunganui, which juts out separating the bay from the Pacific Ocean beyond. Below is a sampling of photographs of Mount Maunganui - all but two of the photographs were taken from the balcony.
The next post in our New Zealand series will cover our explorations up and around Mount Maunganui, as well as along the beach, and the nearby Moturiki Island.
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