Flying Over to NZ + First Impressions

6/2/18- 

Auckland’s first looks are some good ones!

After 27 hours in the air… I’ve arrived! It was a lot of ups and downs. My first flight (BWI ->SFO) wasn’t able to touch down on the airport so we were in air for an hour….my connecting flight was leaving in 1.5 hours. I definitely looked like a madman sprinting across SFO. I GOT ON DURING THE LAST BOARDING CALL THOUGH!! Shockingly enough, I had an entire row of 4 seats all to myself on the long-haul flight from SFO to AKL. Air New Zealand, if you’re reading this, you’re amazing. Being able to fully lay down on an airplane is life changing. Sadly though, the only other person on the NZ internship trip this time around had her Visa delayed by immigration. Hopefully she’ll get here soon! Anyways, first impressions are that NZ is very scenic and very peaceful- until you get onto the motorway. When the plane touched down, my guide Amanda was there to drive me around. We went over to the apartment that I’d be staying at and we were told it wasn’t quite ready yet. To be fair, it was 6am. We left my luggage and went on a tour all over! First to a café, then to get groceries nearby, a beach and then to some scenic lookouts. (She brought her pup and he’s adorable fyi). By the time we got back it was almost noon and the apartment was ready!! It’s small but has everything I need as well as a decent lookout of the sea. Unsure why I don’t have an actual closet or drawer though…

On the following days of freedom, I wandered around to nearby restaurants to get some food. Amanda and her partner invited me over to a nearby, iconic bar called Chapel. Being of age and having to hand over a passport as ID is odd. I’ve definitely noticed that amongst everything else, Asian cuisine is HUGE all over Auckland. But also it’s a bit weird to eat at restaurants all alone when everyone else is either coupled up or in groups. To add onto that, who would’ve thought that Auckland would have such a variety of American stores as well: McDonalds (of course), Burger King, Pizza Hut, and even a Domino’s.

I’ve compiled a small list of places that I should visit:

• Marine Museum
• Auckland Zoo
• Sylvia Park
• Viaducts
• IcE CREAM PARLORS
• The beaches
• Natural hot springs!
• And work, probably