After a quick 12 hour and 6 min flight- I arrive in Auckland

Kia Ora! Welcome to New Zealand! Looking at Auckland from Mt. Eden

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After a quick 12 hour and 7 min flight from Los Angeles, we touched down in Auckland at 5:30am.  They say it's the last seven minutes that feel like forever!! 

Temperatures were 10*C/42*F  and the sun was just rising on a new day.

Now interestingly enough,I left on Wed. and arrived on Friday.  Somewhere out there along with checks in the mail, and lost socks in the dryer...I have an extra day waiting for me!

After collecting luggage and clearing customs, we found our travel coach and driver, Mike, a true Maori. Now you could ask Mike about virtually any fact and figure about New Zealand and he could give it to you without hesitation!

We also met Colin Percy, a retired professor from Auckland ,who also helped us navigate our journey and explain things along the way!

Rainbow over Auckland

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We began with ax extensive tour and history of NZ as we saw sunrise on Mt Eden, crossed the Harbor bridge, checked out the fish markets and visited downtown.

Back at the hotel, we showered and then caught a cab to Kelly Tarlton's Antarctic Encounter. Due to recent flooding, the underwater tunnel in the harbor was closed, but the good news was the tickets were only $12NZ.

We saw the replica of the station set up in Antarctica for scientific research. BRRRR those guys got cold! Next, we boarded an "arctic snowcat" for our journey amongst the penguins. They were quite lively and entertaining!

We returned to the hotel, rested briefly and then hit the open air market were I purchased a pair of possum/sheep wool gloves! It's chilly here!

Finally, it was on to dinner at Kermaduc for some wonderful garlic prawns and a walk back to the hotel.