Arrived at the airport and surprisingly with a little tinkering, all the cases were good to go.  Unfortunately, the conveyor broke temporarily but within 15 minutes and some help we’d checked our cases in. Just a waiting game now,  but we did spot our plane.

Once we’d boarded the plane we thought we’d have a bite to eat with our water, maybe a snack or the wraps we prepared yesterday. Before we knew it the air stewardess was taking our lunch order.  A lovely beef, mash and veg lunch it was too, with a cake of course and a small tipple.

We watched the safety video which was really well made.

Air New Zealand gave so much leg room and were so attentive, the flight was  really enjoyable. We watched a documentary on New Zealand, it’s land and wild adventure side.  This gave us some good ideas for activities and adventures.  No doubt we’ll find one or two activities the older generation can do safely.  Maybe we should have invested in a Go Pro or something similar as there have already been a few ‘you’ve been framed’ moments with possibly more in New Zealand. A country that prides itself for its extremities and ‘living on the edge’ attitude to life.

The Border Police

We were asked to go to the red zone,  items to declare,  when we did the online declaration forms.  The gent at the border control desk had no sense of humour whatsoever, so we kept banter down to a minimum.   He grilled us for 10 minutes on items being brought into the country.  His frosty personality had thawed a little by the time he finished and he gave us a card to be interrogated further at the next post. After apparently passing both of these interrogation posts, we had to put our bags back through the scanners while a dog sniffed us up and down.  Luckily no stashed bananas this time or I think it would have been a strip search and a week in the hole.  Free accommodation and food, so it would have had it’s bonuses.

Pods & Pads

The accommodation for the night was a basic box room in a hostel that specialises in single pods.  It was outside the airport grounds but too near to get a bus or shuttle.  Looking at how much luggage we had we ‘borrowed’ the airport trolley and set off on our 15 minute walk.  This reminded me of my time in New York crossing Central Park to one of the poorer boroughs at the time, Harlem. So many people living out of a shopping trolleys it was sad.  Here we are we pushing the airport trolley around the streets, looking like we were searching for a park bench for the night. 

In fact we  are staying at the LyLo Hostel, not far outside the airport.

Pictures taken from website hostelworld.com as our phones wouldn’t have done it justice. We chose the bottom two pictures, a box room with private bathroom. 90% off our fellow guests appear to be on a gap year.  Though I was talking to a Swiss bloke who has also hired a camper van and was heading straight down south for a few weeks fishing with friends. 

This place would be highly recommended if you are on a budget, backpacking, or just want somewhere to chill on your first night after landing in this mountainous, green, grey and white paradise.

The hangout was buzzing with life, but we didn’t want to intrude on people’s personal space by taking photos.  We’ll no doubt be up early in the morning so will capture the heart of the hub then, while others are sleeping.

Some of the amenities. There are signs and quotes everywhere to inspire adventure and a colourful murial down the stairs wall which we hope will represent our trip – let’s wait and see.

No doubt there will be stairs and tracks to climb and descend, lakes to swim,  crazy activities to get the adrenaline flowing.  But for now,  although we haven’t done too much today,  rest is needed as this could be the start of going three weeks at full- throttle.