NZ Day 1 – Arrival in Auckland: The land of nod

Image by Ginger DJ via Flickr

Landed in Auckland around 9am and were introduced to New Zealand’s paranoid immigration having our hiking boots taken away for cleaning and sterilised. The officials were also keen to know what sort of trainer Kerry was at home, why she was here and how close was Sussex to Surrey where the Foot and Mouth outbreak was.

The hotel shuttle bus delivered us to our first stay, the Siebel Suites on the waterside. Our early arrival meant the room wasn’t ready so we searched for a decent breakfast and scoffed some French toast. Gained some nice harbour views and some feathered friends with cheeky sparrows stalking us for leftovers.

The Siebel Suite room was amazing with all the modcons you could need like washing machine, dishwasher, DVD player etc. All we were interested was regaining some much needed sleep looking more like a zombie with Rage. With a couple of hours kip we ventured out looking for more grub. Found an Asian mix restaurant called Monson Poon (Moon) and ordered some hot curries. Shame the jetlag curtailed our appetite so headed back for more sleep.