The Swanson's New Zealand Trip

Auckland: 13-16 May & 01-04 June, 2001

Auckland is where we first set foot in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest city and, most important, where our airplane landed. Heck, we just try to "go with the flow".

We arrived after a ten hour nonstop flight from Honolulu. Clearing customs and immigration we exited to see our smiling (well, smiling for 7:30 A.M. on a Sunday morning anyway) host, Clinton Macy, waiting for us. In a twink he whisked us to his and wife Caroll's beautiful home north of Auckland.

After a whirlwind tour of the city, we had Dim Sum for lunch, and then a fabulous home-cooked meal (New Zealand lamb! [and NZ wine! -- Bob]) We kept our eyes open until about 9 P.M. when our jet lag finally caught up with us, and we were off to bed.

We stayed a few days, doing a bit more sightseeing, and plotting our next move. We decided on a "no frills" tour which included airfare from Auckland to Christchurch, ground transportation, and hotels in South Island. This was not a fully-accompanied tour, but we would be met everywhere by transportation and we picked the "nicer" hotel plan. Food and entertainment would be on our own. On Wednesday, we departed on this South Island "tour" starting in Christchurch. The "thumbnails" following this narrative are a select subset of our Auckland images. They may be "enlarged" by clicking on them with your mouse pointer. Enjoy!

Auckland City Skyline	Auckland Skyline & Marina	America's Cup Boat Description	Maori Statue @ Marina	R & S on Victoria Peak with city in background
Our Hosts: Caroll & Clinton Macy	Auckland Skyline from Victoria Peak	Auckland harbor from Victoria Peak	Waiheke Island (east of Auckland)	Our host's lush backyard

Continue to Christchurch
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