A New Country Beckons

Monday 4 December

Due to the later time of the departure of the plane, we didn’t have to be up too early today, and the sun was really warm as I walked the ten minutes there and back to the post box – Melbourne was going to have a fine warm day. The taxi came on time at 09.00 and the journey to airport took just over half an hour, out to the north-western side of the city. At the check-out desk the lady seemed a bit disconcerted about our tickets and had to make a few telephone calls to ascertain we should be allowed to travel – we also had to show our documents to prove we had arranged to leave New Zealand at some time in the future – very strange. But she eventually issued our boarding passes and after filling out the necessary emigration forms, we sought out the Tourist Refund Office – to claim the tax back on the camera we had bought in Cairns – spending more than A$300 in one shop entitles you to a refund of the tax if you leave within thirty days – Colin thinks that happens at home too – but I can’t see Gordon Brown paying back any money after he has his hands on it. With the refund I was able to replenish my stocks of perfume, which were getting low.

The plane ride was uneventful – for the first time we had an aisle and middle seat, not a window seat – I found it very strange sitting in the middle, but I think Colin had more room for his legs, and anyway I was blogging. The food on Air New Zealand is what gives airplane food a bad name – a focatta sandwich, supposedly with chicken and hummus (both negligible), a pot of chocolate mousse and a pot of water. It’s a good job we had eaten breakfast.

Arriving in Auckland we had to put our watches forward by another two hours – we are now thirteen hours ahead of home. The weather was very grey and cold (I think the temperature was under 20 degrees C – not at all what we had been used to - and as we emerged from the building, it was drizzling slightly. The first sign we saw when we exited the airport was to the Villa Maria winery – sadly in the opposite direction to the way we were traveling (Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc being one of our favourite white wines). Perhaps we would have a chance to visit there tomorrow. The minibus – noisy and not very comfortable – took about half an hour to wind its way around the coastline to the city and drop us at the Stamford Plaza (the same chain as we stayed in at Adelaide) – one of the more glitzy high rises. The outer areas of the city looked very like London suburbs, streets of houses, back to back, with gardens and flowers which we recognized. But the inner city, lying within a deep cove, was very different – lots of new high rise hotels, rows of small ramshackle shopping streets, very few older buildings, and a general feel of a desolate seaside town. We would see more tomorrow as we explored.

Porters rushed to claim our bags at the hotel – till they felt the weight of mine, when they stood back to let another of their colleagues lift it – and we had soon checked in and found our room – only on the 4th floor - with a view of the surrounding streets. As the time by now was after 19.30 we decided to find an eaterie – in case we had the same problem as in Sydney. We walked up the road, away from the nearby docks – and eventually found a pub style venue called the Lord Nelson, which had lots of small booths and bistro fare. I had mussels and steak – these foods have definitely been my mainstay over the past few weeks, although tonight I did have my steak “New York style” – ie stuffed with oysters. It was delicious, but surprisingly the oysters overpowered the flavour of the meat. I also asked for mustard (being a condiment fanatic) and throughout Australia I have been served with hot English – the sort that goes straight up your nose and makes your eyes water, so I was a little relieved to get ‘Colmans’ tonight. Colin had at last found a venue serving lamb! I ordered a bottle of Villa Maria merlot, only to hear Colin ordering local beer – so, oh dear – I had to drink a whole bottle of wine to myself!

Back in the room, we tried to connect to the internet for ages, but without success – we will try again tomorrow as the blogs to be published are mounting up.