Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand

FEBRUARY 2019

On a sunny day in February 2019, we left our home town of Langebaan (near Cape Town) in South Africa for our longest flight yet – across the Indian Ocean via Sydney, Australia to land in Auckland, New Zealand just after midnight (and almost 24 hours later). We decided to pay extra for premium seats on Qantas Airlines. For such a long flight, one would like to sit a little more comfortably.

It will also be our longest visit to a new country. We planned to be in New Zealand for at least 3 to 4 months. It’s expensive to fly all the way there (and, we’d also find out later, it’s expensive just to be there), so we might as well have made it worth it.

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Probably the most luggage we’ve ever had on a trip – Cape Town International Airport, South Africa

Cheers on our first visit to New Zealand in mid-air, it’s my favourite dish Bobotie

Arrival in Auckland, New Zealand

Good friends of ours in South Africa contacted their family in New Zealand to inform them about our planned visit to New Zealand. Our new friends in New Zealand then kindly suggested that we could stay with them until we sorted out our accommodation and other important matters. What a kind gesture from people we didn’t even know!

They picked us up at Auckland Airport (just after midnight), after which we then went to their house in Gulf Harbour – about an hour’s drive. Very kind of people that we didn’t even know then.

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

Welcoming gifts in our bedroom (there’s 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 with towns in our home country and here in New Zealand we sometimes felt we could just as well be on the famous Garden Route (Knysna/St Francis Bay/Wilderness) in South Africa.

After a week in New Zealand, we have already visited the city of Auckland and surrounding areas. It is beautiful with so much greenery and lush vegetation. And best of all, one can see the beaches and sea from almost anywhere. For us who love the sea so much, this was a big bonus.

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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 rugged coast west of Auckland and were fascinated with its black sand surfing beach! Although it was cloudy and rainy, we could see that Piha Beach definitely has a unique beauty.

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View over Piha Beach

We enjoyed a walk on the beach – with our toes in the magical black sand. There was a surfing competition for youngsters and we took some time to watch them frolic in the waves.

Spectacular views on Piha Beach

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Berto, Pearl and Werner walk through the river at Piha Beach

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Black sand between my toes – a new experience for me

Our new friends also took us to a beautiful place, namely Mahurangi. From here one could see numerous small islands in the sea. We didn’t know Auckland was surrounded by so many small islands.

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Boat in the calm bay of Mahurangi

We got up very early one morning to watch the sunrise from Shakespear Regional Park at the tip of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. We started walking in almost total darkness, up a very steep hill and through a herd of sheep to reach the lookout point.

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At the lookout point 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 1880s, has so many walking trails. We are definitely going to walk on a few of these in the next few months.

The locals we have met since our arrival in New Zealand have all been very friendly so far. As foreigners it had a big impact on us and something we will always remember.

We were now ready to find our own accommodation for the next few months and to see 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.