New Zealand 15 Feb to 24 Feb 2007

(for those who have already read this series of 5 slutigrams, I have addded photos of the places we saw)

After much debate about the high costs of getting to NZ (airfares have risen greatly due to fuel costs and all sorts of security charges), we decided that time in NZ would be better than time in south Texas. Using the Internet got us a price of about $500 a ticket cheaper than the best pricethat our travel agent could get. Booking flights, attractions, rooms, etc. on the Internet is easy and often less costly than using other methods.

On February 15th, we left from Kearney airport at 1:30 in the afternoon and arrived in Auckland at 7 AM on February 17th, via Denver & Los Angeles Yes, it is a long flight, but not 2-days long, as you cross the international dateline on the way to NZ and in the process, you lose a day. That day is regained on the way home with the result that you land in Los Angeles several hours before you left Auckland.

Flying Air New Zealand to NZ is the way to go. Each seat has its own movie screen and you have the choice of any of 82 movies to watch (no extra charges on international flights), plus a large choice of TV shows, games and music. Two delicious meals were served (airline food can be good). By the time we landed at 7AM in Auckland after 12 hrs in the air, we were well fed and somewhat rested, as we managed to get 6 hours of sleep.

The sun was rising about that time…a gorgeous orange sunrise, a clear & warm day. Yes warm…oh how wonderful it is to leave the cold behind and transport into lovely warm temps! Winter in Nebraska had been pretty miserable up to the point of our trip, and oooh, the warmth felt so good. Dennis O’Callaghan (a great mate) met us at the airport and transported us to their home, which we made our home base during the next 6 weeks. We have been family friends since 1987 and on our last trip, became godparents to their now 4 year old daughter, Emily.

Our first week in NZ was spent in the Auckland area and was mostly a social experience with friends.


Feeling relatively rested, we called another set of friends, the
Janczewski’s and arranged to meet at our favorite winery out in forested western suburbs for a tasting session. A social time was had over many glasses of wine. This winery, Grand View Estate, is a special place for us as, over the years we spent many an afternoon sitting at the tasting bar while the vinter, Ivan Farac, happily poured out our libations. Ivan’s is a small business. Other than a sign on the road, he does not advertise. Rather, he gives his product to his customers in a tasting room arranged with bar stools and bar and figures he pays less for that than advertising. We left feeling cheerful and very welcome back to NZ.

On Sunday, we attended our old church, about a 20 minute walk from the O’Callaghan’s. The church has changed quite a bit since we left 15 years ago. We recognized only a few people, as the church is now almost entirely attended by Pacific Island peoples from Tonga and Samoa. Funny how things change over time

Later that Sunday, we drove out to Muruwai Beach for our first NZ boogie boarding session. It is one of the west coast beaches and the sand is black iron ore and can be very HOT when in full sun! The day was warm and sunny, but the water was very cold. Elaine bought a wet suit last year and needed that. Don did not stay in too long for two reasons…the water was cold and waves were not the best; boogie boarding is always better on the incoming tide. However, it was fun to return to one of our favorite beaches.
Although a small country, NZ has more coastline than the contiguous US…so that’s a lot of beaches…never crowded except for late Dec & Jan when there is a mass exodus from city to seashore to camp for several weeks and just enjoy! We did quite a lot of boarding on this trip, as you will no doubt hear about if you persist reading these slutigrams. We brought a picnic meal and enjoyed the sunny weather.

The summer had not been very warm up until the time of our arrival; thus, the ocean had not warmed much either. Within a short time, temps had warmed and weather was glorious all during our stay, with only a few rainy nights. Soon the ocean had warmed and our future boarding days were much better. The drive to and from the beach goes through beautiful NZ farmlands and forests. The greens of NZ are stunning.

After returning from the beach, Liz and Dennis arranged a barbecue with another family, the Battersby’s. A fun evening was had by all.

Our hosts, Liz and Dennis, were unbelievably generous in opening their home to us during the 2.5 weeks we spent in Auckland. At the end of the trip, we were even better friends than ever and are very grateful for their making this a special trip for us.


Elaine picked up a cold, probably on the flight down, and it held on for a week or so and then reoccurred during the last week of our stay and held on even when we returned to USA.

On Monday the 19th, Don indulged his stamp collecting hobby and spent the day with a fellow collector, Neil Halliday, that he knew from years ago while attending the Suburban Stamp Club. They swapped stamps and had a good visit. Neil has a nephew, Jimmy, a university student in Dunedin (a city on the South Island) who is also a collector. Don has sent used USA stamps to Neil and Jimmy for many years. Since we were going to visit Dunedin, Don arranged a meeting with Jimmy, whom we’d never met. More on this when
we get to Dunedin.

On Tuesday, we took a city bus downtown to meet another friend for morning tea. Rick is a retired stevedore who also holds a doctorate in management and was a tutor at university and shared an office with Don many years ago. City buses are excellent and the drivers courteous. At every bus stop, there is a digital sign that displays which buses are coming to that stop and when to expect them. If a bus is delayed, the time to arrival is updated. We do not know if any USA city has such technology in place. NZ is often at the forefront of technology, as it is easier to experiment in a
smaller market than to attempt to introduce new things into a larger market. Rick and wife, Anne, have traveled extensively throughout Asia, the Pacific Islands, and North America, and it is always fun and interesting to catch up with him and update on what’s happening with them.

While downtown, we stopped at the AAA (AA in NZ) and picked up maps and booklets for our planned trips. Nearby, another friend has his business. Lai and Khim run a formal wear rental business, based in Auckland, with franchises throughout the country. We shared a cup of tea and set up a date to enjoy a future dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Most of these friends, we’ve been in contact with by email, so they expect us to pop in unannounced or otherwise.



After this, we spent some time just walking through the downtown shops on Queen Street, taking in the big city atmosphere, and had a look at the newly built commuter train station. Public transportation in & around Auckland is excellent and reasonably priced. The city has a population of just over a million, is very cosmopolitan and quite beautifully situated on a series of
extinct (? dormant) volcanoes between two harbors, the Waitamata and Manukau.

That afternoon, we went over to the university, just a hike up a steep hill, and had short visits with several former colleagues. When we lived in NZ, most of them had small children…now, 15 years later, we are hearing all about their careers, as most have graduated from university and are launched on various careers. Always so interesting to hear what path in life they have decided to follow.

We had dinner with Lech and Halina (Janczewski) that evening at their home. Halina is an excellent cook and the wine and conversation both flowed freely. Socializing in NZ is quite different than in USA. In NZ, a great many invitations to socialize are invitations to come into their home for a meal, games, conversation, whatever.

On Wednesday, Liz lent us her car and we went to our old neighborhood in New Lynn. Our home was moved out and two new houses sit on the lot where our home was. The neighbor on one site, an older lady, is now in a nursing home in Kerikeri and has sold the home in which she lived most of her adult life. We did catch up with Winney at the nursing home a week later. The
neighbors on the other side are still there. They used to run a commercial tomato production business (a farm). Land prices got very high and they sold off the farmland for housing. We had a good visit with Katie and her daughter Helen (who babysat our children so many years ago). Katie’s husband, Valen, took a part time job and was not home but we caught up with him at his workplace a few weeks later.

Next stop was a visit to our Children’s old primary school to drop off some National Geographic magazines. We have been giving our old National Geographic magazines to Arahoe Primary School for 20 years now. While we no longer know anyone there, we still feel grateful for the wonderful start they gave to Tom and Anne in school. They like getting the magazines and I guess as long as they can use them, we’ll continue finding ways to get the mags to them.

More visiting friends in the afternoon. We met up with Judy (Battersby) for lunch in the countryside at Blossom’s Restaurant and did some fruit and veggie shopping. The fruits & veggies are mostly locally grown and they are delicious. So fresh. Thursday, Don pursued stamps again by visiting a stamp shop in downtown
Auckland. Don bought a few stamps and had a visit with this dealer. That evening, we went out to a Chinese restaurant with Lech, Halina, Lai, Khim and their family. The menu was in Chinese, so fortunately, Lai did all the ordering and we were treated to a feast. Also got a chance to catch up with Lai’s son Jeremy, daughter Anita and her husband David. We have known Jeremy since he was 2. He is now a senior at Auckland University majoring in Information Technology. Always great to see this family.

Friday finished our first week. A week of friends, friends, friends. We went out to lunch with a former co-worker of Elaine’s, Susie. Susie visited us in Hawaii a few years ago; she is a lively and interesting personality. That night, we attended a play at the University Theatre. A local production, “The Tutor”…a very funny play, very contemporary. Happened to meet someone we knew who also was at the theater, small world.

Now we were ready to leave Auckland and see some of beautiful NZ. Which we’ll continue next time.

Elaine & Don