Day 1 - Arrival & Cambridge
Saturday, July 4th
Flying in to Auckland
Today was a long travel day beginning in Milwaukee, at noon on Thursday (July 2), ending in Cambridge, New Zealand at noon on Saturday, July 4th. Our flight from Chicago to San Fransisco was delayed making our already tight connection even tighter. We landed after the flight to NZ had begun boarding and had 1 mile to walk (run!) between gates. I ran a 14 minute mile and Mike ran a 12 minute mile (both of us with back packs) to make it on time! Twelve+ hours in the air brought us in to Auckland as the sun was rising.
While we arrived safely, our luggage did not. It went to Los Angeles rather than New Zealand, and will take at least one day to catch up with us. So we left the airport with our backpacks and collected our rental car. I got to drive first since I’d had experience driving on the left side of the road when I was on sabbatical in Cape Town in 2014.
Concentrating on the road!
After a stop at K-Mart to pick up a few essentials to tie us over until we get our luggage, we headed south out of Auckland to the small town of Cambridge. The country side was rural with farms (cows and sheep) all along the way. The sun was bright and it was around 60F out. There were hills and mountains, plains and forests. And it was all quite green and lush.
We arrived at our hotel for the evening around noon. It is located in the center of this charming town, known for its central role in New Zealand’s horse industry.
FOOD! And of course we’re eating well!
Here’s to a great trip!
Tomorrow: Hobbiton on the Lord of the Rings movie set (complete with Second Breakfast), the Glowworm Caves of Waitoma, and on to Rotorua. A full day!