Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand

FEBRUARY 2019

On a sunny day in February 2019, we departed from our hometown Langebaan (near Cape Town) in South Africa for our longest flight yet. We would fly over the Indian Ocean via Sydney, Australia to arrive in Auckland, New Zealand just after midnight (almost 24 hours later). The decision to pay extra for premium seats on Qantas Airlines was worth it, because for such a long flight, you definitely want to sit a bit more comfortably.

This will also be our longest visit to a new country. Our plan was to be in New Zealand for at least 3 to 4 months. It is expensive to fly all the way there (and, as we would later find out, it is expensive just to be there), so we might as well make it worth it.

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Luggage for 4 months – Cape Town International Airport, South Africa

Cheers in mid-air to our first visit to New Zealand – my favourite dish, Bobotie

Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand

In South Africa, good friends of ours informed their family in New Zealand about our planned visit. Our new friends in New Zealand kindly suggested that we stay with them until we had sorted out our accommodation and other important matters. What a friendly gesture from people we didn’t even know.

They picked us up at Auckland Airport (just after midnight), after which we took an hour-long drive to their home in Gulf Harbour. A gesture that we appreciated from people who, at that stage, didn’t even know us.

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Pearl baked a cake to welcome us in New Zealand – “welcome home”

Welcoming gifts in our bedroom (with even hay fever tablets)

We were very excited to explore New Zealand. When we usually arrive in a new country for the first time, we always compare the new places to towns in our home country, and here in New Zealand, we sometimes felt we could just as well have been in the famous Garden Route (Knysna/St Francis Bay/Wilderness) in South Africa.

After a week in New Zealand, we visited the city of Auckland and surrounding areas. It is beautiful with so much greenery and lush vegetation. And best of all, you can see the beaches and sea from almost anywhere. We have always loved being near the coast and really enjoyed these views.

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Auckland (as seen from the bus on the motorway/highway)

The waterfront at Auckland

On a ferry, leaving Auckland harbour bound for Gulf Harbour

We visited the famous Piha Beach on the rocky coast west of Auckland and were fascinated by this beach with its black sand. Even though it was cloudy and rainy, we could see that Piha Beach has a unique beauty.

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View over Piha Beach

Spectacular views on Piha Beach

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Berto, Pearl and Werner walk through the Waikato River at Piha Beach

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A new experience – black (and not white) sand between my toes

Our new friends also took us to another beautiful place, Mahurangi on the Matakana Coast. From here we could see numerous small islands in the sea. We did not even know that Auckland was surrounded by so many small islands.

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Boat in the calm bay of Mahurangi

One morning we got up very early to watch the sunrise from Shakespear Regional Park. This beautiful park is located at the tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. We started walking in almost complete darkness, up a very steep hill and through a herd of sheep to reach the viewpoint.

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At the viewpoint in Shakespear Regional Park 

Sunrise at Shakespear Regional Park

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Spectacular sunrise

Shakespear Regional Park, named after the Shakespear family who bought the land from local Maori in the 1880’s, has so many walking trails. We’re definitely going to walk on more of these in the next couple of months.

The locals we have met since our arrival in New Zealand have all been very friendly and helpful. To be welcomed like this is something we will always remember.

It was now time to find our own accommodation for the next few months and to discover more of New Zealand.

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On our first visit to New Zealand

We rented an apartment in Whangaparaoa during our stay in New Zealand – click here to read more about it.