Suprisingly the jetlag isn’t to bad flying into New Zealand. At least not from our part of the world in western Canada. We left Calgary via Vancouver on March 17 and arrived in Auckland on March 19. It was a 14 hour direct flight from Vancouver to Auckland and we crossed the international date line (and thus jumped ahead one day minus 5 hours).
Air New Zealand is a great way to fly. Lots of leg room and the food sure beats other airlines I could mention.
First impressions – humidity. Yes, it was quite humid when we landed.
There was a beagle sniffing backpacks for produce and other forbidden foods while we waited for our luggage to arrive.
We took the Supershuttle (35 minute ride) from the airport to the Quadrant Hotel, arriving at 7 am. Of course rooms weren’t ready at that time but they kindly stored our luggage and let us have showers in the gym. After 14 hrs in the plane from Vancouver it was a welcome break.
We spent the day exploring the harbour. The hotel is walking distance to most things downtown. (The area is also the home of the University of Auckland).