Intro to New Zealand and Auckland

Our arrival into New Zealand was a smooth transition from Australia. Arriving into Auckland airport, we found our rental car quite quickly. Hertz was even nice enough to provide a bunch of maps...this was the beginning of our road trip through New Zealand from top to bottom (North Island to South Island) over a three and half week period.

As we reminisce and begin writing our blog in retrospect, we can´t stop telling everybody how gorgeous New Zealand is - and yes, there are magical places that look just like the scenes from Lord of the Rings! We thoroughly enjoyed New Zealand - almost everywhere you go it´s beautiful - clean beautiful lakes, sheep grazing leisurely, rolling green hills in the North and magnificent snow capped mountains in the South; a canvas of artwork right before your eyes everywhere you go. Some of the most interesting and comforting facts we learned about NZ early on is that there are about at least 50 times more sheep than people and there are VERY few animals or critters that people need to worry about...it´s super safe and practically nothing can kill you - no snakes, bears, etc....makes for an easy outdoors experience.

Auckland

Our first stop on the way into the city from the airport...."one tree hill" look out just South of the city.....a great place to soak in Auckland from above - a beautiful vista with sheep roaming along side the path to the top....our first exposure to the many sheep we'll see in the next month. Auckland, a beautiful city surrounded by water and many interesting neighborhoods...in many ways it reminded us of a bit of San Francisco...even the cool breezy climate in early summer was all too familiar for us! We stopped for dinner at Circus Circus cafe-eatery (needless to say the decor was centered around a 'circus' theme) in Mount Eden, a colorful neighborhood/area 20 minutes drive south of the city....we later realized that neighborhoods such as Mt Eden outside of the touristy down town area give Auckland the character that we appreciate....cafes and mom and pop shops along busy main streets. We finally arrived in what we would say is the best boutique hotel we have stayed at...it couldn't have been a better home base as we start our trek through NZ, prepared to make our home in various local B&B's and hostels along the way. We learned from a UK couple along the way that our style of taveling, a step above backpacking, is known as 'flash packing'... staying in hostels yet enjoying the finer things that backpackers may not splurge on... nice gourmet meals or even cooking our own in the community kitchen along the way ;)

Thanks to X's Hilton hotel points, we stayed at the Hilton Auckland literally on the water/harbour of Auckland in the Princes Wharf (Northern part of down town)....it is less than 5 years old and truly a small boutique style hotel....modern decor with simple clean lines and water front views from our private balcony adjoining our room....puffy white down comforters and pillows....and truffles at your bed side.....I will stop now - clearly amenities that we appreciate and that have gone amiss while flashpacking the past month.

We stayed one night in our heaven of sorts and after a mornnig swim in the most unique and elegant pool that I have seen (3 lane lap pool on the 4th floor of the hotel with the illusion of water cascading into the sea) , we were off to explore New Zealand.