Arrival on January 10, 2015

We seemed to have lost a day...  I can't seem to figure out where it went!  We left Denver a little late, but around 3:40.  No surprise - a full flight to San Francisco.  We arrived in plenty of time to make it to our connecting flight to Auckland that left at 7:35.  That flight was also full!  However, unlike the trips to India and back, all the passengers were very well behaved - quiet and staying in seats.  I was able to sleep most of the way surprisingly.  I did wake up about 2:30 A.M. Auckland time.  

We landed in Auckland about 6:00.  Customs was pretty easy, except our hiking boots had to be washed and our tent had to be inspected and shaken out.  I was able to easily get a car rented and cell phone sim cards swapped out to be used in NZ.  We met Clay Nelson, the man with whom I've been emailing about things to do and see in NZ.  We had breakfast and then he decided to lead us out of town so we could get to the Bay of Islands.  

Well, driving on the wrong side of the road is interesting.  John had to remind me a few times while driving to get on the left, but overall, I think I did OK.  We made it to the Bay of Islands after stopping for lunch at One Tree Hill, which is an old volcano and overlooks the Auckland area.  It was right by a marina.  It was fun watching these little compact cars pulling boats in and out of the water.

The Bay of Islands is beautiful, but we are SOOOO tired.  We walked around, did a little shopping, ate dinner and are trying to stay awake until an acceptable hour.  I've booked us a kayaking adventure tomorrow where we'll be able to kayak underneath a waterfall.  We think we'll stay another night in this town (Paihia) so we'll probably either sit on the beach, or possibly rent a sea kayak to mess around a little more!  Here are a few pictures!