Arrival in Auckland

The red square with white circle was the landing spot – here looking through the glass floor.
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Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand!

Flight was delayed an hour leaving from LA, but still got to Auckland only 30min late. But was early in the morning (6:30A landing). Met a nice couple from NZ in LA on the way here(Terry & Glad). Flight felt really cramped in the center seats on the 747, so glad to get out of the plane. We barely got any sleep on the plane, feeling almost delirious upon arrival. We got to our hotel by about 8:30A, and not able to check in yet as expected, so left our luggage and started exploring the city by foot. We walked down to the docks and saw the waterfront, and lots of cool skyscrapers.

Incredible view from the Sky Tower

One of the jumpers on their way down!
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Next we headed for the Sky Tower, stopping to pick up a NZ GPS system at electronics shop (this should aid out driving later).

The sky tower was really awesome, what a great way to start off the trip. Incredible view all around Auckland and out into the bay. People were jumping off the top, sort of a bungie, but there were two guide lines, and they would fall the entire distance to the ground, landing on a raised platform. Was thrilling just watching the folks go off, esp from the viewing platform at the top, and through the glass floors on the tower observation area.

We had a marvelous lunch at the top of the tower – excellent service, large portions and perfectly prepared – I had some Monk fish and Cheryl a Filet steak, was incredibly delicious – while rotating around the sky tower. Lots of coffee along our trek.

Then back to the room, and was able to check in at 1:30P. A nice suite at the Airedale looking out to the sky tower. Clogged the toilet on my long awaited first session after departing.

Folks here are really nice. The city is beautiful and well kept. Prices seem about 15% cheaper than the US. Interestingly, all the prices listed in the electronics store (and maybe elsewhere) already include tax. I saw a map online showing the corruption index of countries all over the world (link) and New Zealand rates the highest of any country, with the least perceived corruption of any country.