Arriving in Auckland

Posted by Ruth Atherley on May 31, 2009 at 6:00 pm

I arrived in Auckland at about 6 a.m. (local time) and was pleasantly surprised to find a very nice gentleman (Chris Bredsen of Private Transfer & Tours Ltd.) waiting for me. Not only did Chris help me get my bags, he also assisted me in finding an electrical adapter. (New Zealand plugs are a little different than the ones we have in North America and I definitely need electricity for my blogging/Twitter adventure here!) He waited patiently while I rented a phone and he helped me store one of my suitcases (the one with the grown-up clothes in it for my meetings with the Tourism New Zealand team and to wear at TRENZ.)

He then took me on an excellent driving tour of Auckland. It was very informative and I learned a bit about both the present day and history of the city.

There is quite a bit of construction going on in Auckland because of the upcoming 2011 Rugby World Cup. Rugby is a big deal here. Even flying into Auckland, the only time the pilot came on the sound system to speak was to update passengers on the score of a game. He swore it was due to “passenger demand,” but I could hear the passion in his voice as he updated us.

Every time I am in Auckland, I am struck by the beauty of this city (see Flickr photos).  It has many similarities to Vancouver – being on the ocean, with mountains and an exciting food and wine scene. It is such a lovely city and it’s clean and friendly. There is something quite special here and while I am looking forward to spending time on the South Island, I am also excited about coming back to Auckland next week and discovering more of it.