Sep 20, 2018
We’re in Auckland, New Zealand!
A surprise stop on our adventure to Australia. Justin’s cousin Kim and husband Derek and twins Bodie and Jesse live in Auckland so we decided to route our flight through New Zealand to get a visit in with them. Kim very warmly invited us to stay with them after only receiving an email a week ago about our intended plans to stop in NZ.
Our departure from Vancouver was not as smooth sailing as we usually experience. We were checking in at Air New Zealand when the CSA (customer service agent) informed us that we needed one of two things to get on the flight (that was leaving in 3 hours) a departure ticket leaving New Zealand, which we did not have, as our standby travel is a bit more of a go with the flow way of travelling or an ETA Visa (Electronic Travel Authority) for Australia. Just hearing the word visa, makes you think of many forms, signatures and days of waiting!
An ETA Visa is electronically linked to your passport and you apply for it online. It varies in price but thankfully and surprisingly we were able to purchase a 20 minute rush visa for $50 CAD so we could finish our checkin and get on our flight to Auckland. At this point I’m wondering…of all the people we know that have and still do travel to Australia how did this not come up in conversation. I was surprised as we’ve traveled to many parts of Europe and never needed anything so why would I think another commonwealth country required a visa.
After our little hiccup I figured we were in the clear of surprises. We got our seats at the gate, we’re all together in our own row, things are looking great. To the skies…
…13 hours and 10 minutes of time in the air is a long time, especially when you depart at 8:15pm. Any way you slice it, it’s long. Eat a meal, watch a movie, and sleep were pretty much the only things on our agenda. After checking off the first two things on the list we had the sleeping part to go. All was going well till a tap on my shoulder from Justin a couple hours into my sleep let me know that apparently all was not well. Max had “jimmy legs”, described as “Restless Leg Syndrome (which is also sometimes referred to as Jimmy Legs, spare legs or “the kicks”) it may be described as uncontrollable urges to move the limbs in order to stop uncomfortable, painful or odd sensations in the body, most commonly in the legs.” What google doesn’t tell you is when associated with an 8 year old boy it also can be described as “emotional, crying, self inflicted punching of the legs to attempt to stop such sensations”. He was a mess and Justin was giving up after an hour and a half of trying on his own. I was tagged in to assist with the situation. Switched seats with Shelby and after a few attempts at having him lay across us and then tickle and massage his legs he sat up grabbed his headphones and said to me that he was going to watch a movie and hopefully that would distract him – and it did. No nap for Max on this flight.
So basically after we landed, went through customs and got our bags we went to grab a coffee. Max wanted a drink and I asked him what he wanted. There were some drinks in the cooler and I said “maybe you should get an iced tea?” he says “ya, I should because I’m feeling a little tired”. For those that know, Max’s crazy drink is iced tea. Nothing like liquid sugar to get him bouncing off the walls and into crazy mode. Since we weren’t in the mood after a long travel day to deal with crazy Max we settled on a hot chocolate that of course he hardly touched.
A visitor from Middle Earth to great us at the Auckland Airport.
Grabbed our rental car and went to get in and ended up on the wrong side of the car. Pretty sure it will be the first of many. There will also be many times that Justin will flick the left handle on the steering wheel with the intention to signal and Shelby and I will chuckle every time as the windshield wiper comes on. We’ve got the cleanest window in Auckland rain or shine!
What happens when you don’t sleep on an overnight flight. Max passed out on the couch.
Made our way to Kim and Derek’s place and had a quick visit before everyone went to work or school. We had a snack and then all went for a nap. 2 hours later we were good to go and hopped in the car to head to the nearby suburb of Mairangi Bay for lunch and a beach/park visit. Driving on the other side of the road takes some getting used to. When Justin parks I keep reaching for the shifter to put it in park and take out the key. At one point we’re driving and Justin says “I feel like I want to hug the left side of the road more” and I was like “oh yes, I agree you do like being tight on the left side”. Never mind traffic circles and everything else on the road. But, we are having laughs and taking our time getting places. All part of the adventure.
At Mairangi Bay beach.
Finished the day with a great visit and dinner at the house with the family. Left Sooke on Tuesday afternoon and arrived in NZ on Thursday morning, quickest way to lose a day is travelling over the international date line. Tomorrow, Friday, we’ll see what the weather is like and decide what to do. Perhaps a bike ride around the city or a museum visit.
