First Day in Wellington

We arrived safely Thursday the 17th and had a long day. In Auckland we got our passports stamped. Then we had to grab all our luggage (400 lbs) and clear customs. Once the baggage was conveyed back to Air New Zealand for the flight to Wellington, we had some time to spare. Dennis spied a video arcade corner. Tom and I had some lattes. I browsed the book and souvenir shops while the guys ate breakfast #2 at McDonalds.

The weather was cloudy so we did not get to see too much of the western shore of the North Island. What we did see really was gorgeous--mountains with beautiful bright green and dark green next to the blue ocean. Breakfast #3 was yogurt and muesli with fresh and dried fruit.

About 9:30 a.m. we were greeted at the Wellington airport by Karla and Warwick. Warwick greeted me with flowers, a kiss and a chocolate cupcake for my birthday. Karla greeted us with her warm smile and our taxi cab. Many airport taxis are vans that pull little covered trailers for luggage. We filled that trailer with 8 large checked bags. There was no street space for unloading so the driver pulled up onto the sidewalk.

We are in a furnished two bedroom apartment in the center of the business district. The furniture is modern chrome and glass, which isn’t our taste, nevertheless it is comfortable. The apartment feels spacious since the kitchen, dining and living are all open plan and has 8 tall windows. Dennis enjoys having his own room with some space for books and toys. We hear traffic but no horns; drivers can be fined for inappropriate tooting. Karla did some grocery shopping for us so we could eat and rest.

Most of our stuff arrived unharmed. Two pictures with glass frames broke and I am missing a toiletry bag that was checked. TSA left notes in our luggage letting us know they had been there. The apartment did not have a vacuum cleaner. We called management to borrow a vacuum and they brought us a brand new one. They did not have a vacuum in the building!

The three of us were going to go out, explore and find a toy store. Tom’s key got stuck in the lock. We called management to get the key out. Tom and Dennis went out while I stayed back at the apartment. Tom got our bank account opened where Dennis got a water bottle and a canister bank. In the meantime, I studied the guidebooks and maps and figured out where the toy store is and how to get to the zoo and botanic gardens. We met at Toyworld and Dennis got two action figures, a fly wheels, extra wheels for it, a Hot Wheels semi truck, and a quantum fazer gun. At the store Dennis tested all the scooters. A few times we asked him to slow down so he wouldn’t run over other shoppers.

Around 5:30 we returned to our apartment both tired and hungry. I sent Tom out to scout for dinner. He asked a nice lady for a restaurant recommendation. We had a delicious meal at Café Pravda: fries for Dennis, salmon and salad for me, lamb for Tom. Dennis was so tired we had to eat and run. By 7:00 p.m. both Tom and Dennis were in bed asleep. I followed a half hour later after enjoying my birthday cupcake with hokey pokey ice cream (vanilla with butterscotch bits).