Saturday – Feb 25, 2023 – We Made It!

We made it!  We left Detroit just as an ice storm was descending – we hear that power is still not restored to many. Our flight to Los Angeles was quite turbulent, reflecting perhaps the passage of the wintry storm across the US.  Not quite as fresh as we began, we boarded the 13 hour flight to Auckland.  All good!

Flying Air New Zealand, helps us to feel that we are in NZ before we get there.  Our cheerful kiwi flight attendants, who seemed always happy to make us a cup of tea, and the general good nature of everyone contributed to the feeling.  Jim seems to have cracked the sleeping on the plane better than Frances.  Her strategy was a glass of Marlborough Pinot Noir and a NyQuil (taken separately).  It supported dozing and worrying less about not sleeping, but she may have to tinker with the mixture.

We arrived at 6 am, before sunrise.  We saw no evidence of the recent flooding from Cyclone Gabrielle at Auckland airport. (Less than 2 weeks ago, Auckland airport was closed because of flooding inside!)  We sailed through passport control – Jim now has NZ residency, and Frances comes in on her NZ passport, so we can go through together.  We collected our bags and talked to the agricultural officer who wanted to know what food we had with us – 2 granola bars apiece,  and the state of our hiking boots – we had just washed them.  Well, how had we washed them?  Answer, with soap and water and a scrubbing brush.  NZ is very concerned about bringing in diseases or rogue seeds that could threaten local agriculture, flora, and wildlife.  Customs and agriculture officials pay a lot of attention to food items and outdoor equipment that are trying to enter the country.

After a bit of discovery – the location of the rental car shuttle pickup has changed – we caught the bus and picked up our rental Toyota Corolla.  By this time, it was raining gently.  With great focus, Jim drove us out of Auckland.  The driving directions were a bit confusing since some of the main roads are still closed from the cyclone, it was pouring rain off and on, and the nav system in the car did not completely agree with Google maps.  We took some routes we hadn’t driven before and there were minor occasional construction delays, but the drive was basically uneventful.  New Zealand drives on the left, so it does require a great deal of attention, particularly after a night on a plane.  We were headed to Whangarei, but knew that the main highway was closed due to slips caused by Cyclone Gabrielle, so we were expecting a detour that would take us right by Helen’s (Frances’ sister) farm.  So that was lunch sorted!

We stopped for a coffee (Flat white and a scone) on the way in Warkworth.  Jim impressively parallel parked on the first try.  We drove through some heavy rain and then it turned into a perfectly gorgeous day.  Everything is incredibly green!  The rolling green hills with (intermittent) sunshine and storm clouds in the background were magnificent.  Helen’s farm looked as lush and green as we every remember seeing it and have never seen it so green in February (which is normally the dry season).  Helen sustained some hillside collapse on her farm, but we will tour that on another day.

After an excellent lunch, which Helen and Katy seemed to produce effortlessly, we took a quick look at the land that we own and Helen’s local beach (Baylys Beach). Then headed about an hour and 15 minutes east to Whangarei to check into the little cottage that we had last rented when we were here as pandemic refugees in 2021.  By time we arrived in Whangarei after 3 PM we were exhausted – some 38 hours after we got up Wednesday morning.  Arriving at the cottage felt like coming home.

The beautiful day vanished at 6 pm.  A spectacular rainbow followed.

We were fast asleep before 8 pm and woke the next day at 5:23 am.  The best night’s sleep ever!  A good night’s sleep, a shower, and coffee/tea and we are ready to go!

This morning we understand that the road south (that we just drove north yesterday) is blocked by slips caused by the deluge that we drove through.  We were so fortunate not to be a couple of hours later and we feel very badly for those communities that are experiencing even more flooding.

Meanwhile it is a gorgeous summer’s day in Whangarei.  We are feeling less befuddled (although Frances has now realized that she left her glasses on the plane).  We’ve done our laundry, which is drying in the beautifully clean air. 

Frances headed to the Town Basin to meet her long-time friend, Lesley, for lunch.  It’s almost surreal to be in sunshine and short sleeves picking up with friends here when just yesterday we were clad in our winter-wear walking with friends in Michigan.

This afternoon we walked the Town Basin loop and visited the Hundertwasser Art Center, which is a most interesting art museum that has been in the making for more than 20 years.  Over the years, we have watched the idea blooming and then languishing and then finally, the construction taking place.  Frances was first introduced to Hundertwasser by her German teacher in High School.  He (Hundertwasser) came to NZ in 1973, an Austrian visual artist and architect who also worked in the field of environmental protection.  From 1973 to 2000, he made NZ his home. His style is unique and very colorful and we particularly enjoyed looking at some of the posters and postage stamps that he had designed. Then, of course, we needed afternoon tea at the rooftop café! (Just as well that we are getting our steps in.)