Bye Auckland (& New Zealand)

So today is the day. The day of farewell has come. Since my flight doesn't leave until the night, I still have the whole day to see something. I also packed my day well, because nothing is as bad as waiting for the flight...

First stop of the day is the zoo

It's really very beautiful. Large, spacious enclosures with natural borders or glass panels.

Which I also find very beautiful. The zoo is divided by continents and there is one main path. If you follow this, you will see all the animals. But Amanda can also take shortcuts here and there...

The nice woman at the checkout recommended another performance. I go there and have no idea what awaits me there.

The performance takes place in the New Zealand area and the first animal to be introduced is the tuatara. The bridge lizard has 3 eyes, but you can only see 2 in adults. And the tuatara is not just a lizard, the tuatara comes from the dinosaur era, it is, so to speak, the last dinosaur.

And then there is another animal that I haven't seen before: a Weta. A fairly large grasshopper. Very fascinating, but I don't want to touch it...

There are other animals in the zoo, giraffes, rhinos, monkeys...

In the afternoon I saw everything about the zoo and the path took me back to the city. There are pictures of Maoris in the art gallery that I would like to look at. In the pictures you can see her facial tattoos and a stark expressiveness in her eyes.

At the end of the day I go to the SkyTower. Upstairs has a 360 degree view of Auckland on 2 floors. And as I stand up there, I realize that this is my last view of Auckland and New Zealand. That makes me kind of sad, but at the same time I'm looking forward to the familiarity at home... 🤷🏼‍♀️

After dinner we head to the airport with our bags and luggage. My luggage is full and heavy and my hand luggage is definitely over the limit, but no one has ever checked it yet.

Well, this evening, yes. They really check everything by weight and ask me to lighten my carry-on luggage. When I asked where I should give it, she said that I should put it in the big backpack. So take everything away from the luggage carousel and repack. When I stand in front of the strict little woman again, she actually asks me whether I have put the luggage in the large backpack. Of course, I can't leave it at the airport! I've already put on a sweater and warm jacket...

I think the strict, little woman smiles evilly behind her mask and now says her all-important sentence: "Well, then we have to get the big backpack again" and oh wonder, I'm over the baggage allowance. “But now they have to pay for it.” Is the last sentence of the little woman. I was soooo mad, but they didn't cure me of the game. This evening the airline probably needed some extra money and received it in abundance 😡.

This is definitely not a nice end to this great trip!

On the plane, I no longer know whether I should laugh or cry. Today I have a space and two friends are sitting next to me who need a lot of space, so I'm sitting with my upper body in the aisle 🤷🏼‍♀️. I definitely can't sleep like this. I briefly consider asking the Stewarts if they have another seat available when I see that the seat diagonally behind me is free. So I actually go to Stewart and ask for a seat change. He takes a quick look and then gives me his OK. Phew flight saved! The two women also take the opportunity and argue. This makes it much more convenient for everyone...

After a 10-hour flight with little sleep, I'm now sitting in Singapore waiting for my onward flight.

Frankfurt, I'm coming!