Milford, Auckland, New Zealand
Welcome to New Zealand /
Milford
Kia Ora “welcome” to New
Zealand
- In 800 the first Polynesian arrived
- In 1642 Abel Tasman discovers NZ
- 1645 the Dutch Cartographers named the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland
- 1769 Captain Cook explores NZ
- 2024: Paul & Gine are here and we will re-discover it
After a bus ride across the
airport, first comes the Passport Control: Gine has to go to the counter (Paul
not), next we come to a counter where we get checked if we have anything to
declare – it is the bio security of NZ. Then we can pick up our luggage and
again as we walk out a dog comes and checks us out… all fine we are ready to
go.
We can’t find our car
Originally, we reserved the car
for the 19th, then we emailed and changed it, but they were not sure
at which time we will arrive, so they didn’t have the car ready – we have to
wait for around a half hour. Then we decided to get the extra insurance, after
so much going wrong, maybe we should pay that extra money. Ready to go – we got
upgraded and get a Toyota RAV 4 SUV (at least we have enough space). Then we
walk to the car: and it is a long walk!!! There we are not sure where the car
is and can’t find it (I think we are both very tired), after finally finding
it, we can’t find our ticket to exit the parking garage!!! There was a nice guy
and he gave us a ticket. Yes it is clearly time for a sleep!!!
Next thing was, Gine plugged in
the phone so we don’t run out of juice – no good idea as the car wants to
connect to the Android system and doesn’t navigate… ok no charging: let’s hope
we have enough battery life left.
Arriving tired at our Airbnb
Driving on the wrong side of the
road: another learning curve, we were drawn to go to the wrong sides – and then
everything is in reverse, Paul wants to use the signal and turns on the wipers…
At least driving is nice and relaxing, no one drives fast or crazy. Safely we
arrive at our Airbnb where we wondered which one is the right steep driveway.
Parking - Unpacking and we first need a shower: we
feel hot, dirty and tired. Then a cup of coffee and we give ourselves a few
minutes of relaxing.
Paul’s phone is not esim
compatible!!
When we bought Paul’s phone in
Mexico , we made sure, thate we bought the same one we had the Galaxy S54 which
is esim compatible and we even asked when we bought it, and now Paul can’t get
a esim for it – and we wonder why? Is it still on the Mexican provider????
Something we need to figure out (Paul’s job when he is not jet-lagged)
Time to go shopping for supper and
basic foods…. We love the supermarket (even it is not that easy to find
parking). Back at the Airbnb Paul has a nap and Gine goes for a walk.
At Milford Beach
- It is a suburb of Auckland on the north shores
- And here is one of the most popular beaches (yes there are a lot of people), here at the Milford beach reserve
From our Airbnb we can hear the
Music and after leaving the garden and walking down the walking path, we are at
the Marina and close to a super cute bridge: which opens when a sailboat comes
(you can here the sirens sounding). On the other side is a park, today is a
free concert, which gives us some entertaining music all the way up to our
little apartment. Lots of the locals hang around on the lawn under the super
cool huge trees, even more on the sandy beach. We do walk along the sandy beach
for a bit and Paul gets a bit sun tanning time in. One of the coolest things
was, that we heard that super rumbly noise and there were two Ferraris in the
Parking lot – super cool!!!
I think we have an early night
We head back and are soon tired,
that means time for supper and then likely not too much more for today –
tomorrow will be a new start.
In the country with two
Islands: New Zealand:
- Or how the local call it: Aoetaroa meaning “land of the long white cloud”
- It is the youngest country in the earth and it was the last landmass to be discovered by the Europeans
- The Capital is Wellington (we will visit it on the cruise part) and is the southernmost capital in the world
- 1/3 of the country is protected national parks
- There are no snakes here!!!
- It is one of the least corrupt countries on earth (perfect for us!!)
- The first man to go on Mount Everest was from New Zealand: sir Edmund Hilary
- Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu: is the longest name for a place (we don’t go there to complicated to say)
- They don’t have nuclear power stations
- Here is the clearest water in the world in the Blue Lake in Nelson Lake NP
- 5% of the population is human the rest are animals (lots of sheep and cattle)
- More people live in Auckland than in the entire South Island
- More than ¾ of the population live on the North Island (the total population is 5.1 Mill – like in BC): this is where we will spend our time because here the weather is milder and it has lots of beaches
- It is a bicultural nation: the European descendants make up 80 % of the population and 15 % are Maori
Good Morning – let’s start our
trip
We woke up to sunshine – coffee
outside, yes - it is like being on Vacation. Packing all up and we leave
Milford behind – only to soon stop and go shopping first Kmart to get a beach
chair and new Flipflops for Paul, then the supermarket, so we can stock up a
little bit more, as yesterday we were too tired.
It is finally time to start our
vacation.
A journey of a thousand
miles starts with a single step
2025-05-23