Departure to Auckland

On January 3rd at 10:30 a.m., our flight to Auckland took off. We woke up early and Sol drove us to the airport at 7:15 a.m. There wasn't as much traffic as we expected, and we arrived there just before 8. After finding our check-in counter, which opened at 8:30 a.m., we sat down in the terminal and enjoyed our sandwiches. Then we had our backpacks wrapped in plastic for $15 each and got in line at the check-in counter. We had originally planned to check in online the day before, but it didn't work out, so we had to wait in line for three quarters of an hour. After checking in, we went straight to the security check and then to the gate, although we had to walk through a bunch of duty-free shops for an additional 10 minutes. Boarding didn't start until 10:35 a.m., so it was clear that we wouldn't depart exactly on time. But everything worked out and soon we were in the air. Seeing Sydney from above was pretty cool! Especially because we already know our way around a bit and recognized some landmarks.

The flight lasted almost 3 hours in total (although we didn't get any food...) and we landed at 3:30 p.m. local time. So now we are 12 hours ahead of Germany! A whole half day. Since we flew during the day, we were able to see Auckland and the green surroundings from above, which was really beautiful. After the successful landing, we went through passport control and then to pick up our luggage. The airport was very calm and the staff were very nice. Even the passport control officer made small talk with us and asked us what we were doing here. It was really funny, normally you just get processed there!

After getting our backpacks back, we went to the biosecurity check, where we handed in our declaration forms that we filled out on the plane and had our luggage screened. And then Auckland lay before us! At the airport, we immediately withdrew some cash and then bought two tickets for the Skybus, which was supposed to take us to the city. The weather wasn't as warm as in Sydney and it was quite cloudy. After informing the bus driver about our destination and him telling us to get off at the first stop, it took almost half an hour to get to the city. Unfortunately, it didn't work out with the bus stop and we had to walk another 20 minutes with our backpacks to our accommodation. We were already pretty exhausted because we weren't feeling well.

When we arrived at Empire Apartments, we checked in and went up to our room. We shared an apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen with dining area with a few guys who had created a huge mess. The kitchen countertop was covered with utensils mixed with instant noodle remains and trash, and the dining table and floor were covered with empty packaging, crumbs, and bottles. Man oh man, what a first impression! We just said hello briefly and then disappeared into our room. After settling in a bit, we went out again to go grocery shopping because we didn't have anything. We didn't want to walk far, so we just went to the small convenience store around the corner. Oh boy, the prices there! But we had no choice but to shop there because we needed something for breakfast, so we paid $13.50 for a small bottle of water, a 250g piece of cheese, and a pack of toast. For dinner, we went to the Kebab House a bit further and got two yufkas, which only cost $12 together. It was really ridiculous!

Back in the apartment, we ate the yufkas while watching an episode of Elementary in bed, and then I did some blogging while Andi next to me had already fallen asleep. I was quite surprised when I looked at the clock and it was already 8:30, even though it was still light outside. Apparently, the sun sets later in New Zealand than in Australia!

After a more or less restful night, because our roommates were quite loud and listened to music, we got up relatively early the next day to explore the city a bit. Before we left, we told the others that it would be nice if they could clean up the kitchen a bit so that we could cook there in the evening. They told us that they were checking out today anyway and that everything would be cleaned up. Thank goodness! For 3 nights, such a mess and noise would not have been great. They even apologized, but we didn't care as long as they were gone. When we came back in the evening, the apartment was actually almost unrecognizable because everything was cleaned up, and our new roommates (3 Asians) were much quieter and they also didn't come home until late. The last night we didn't have any roommates at all, so the overnight situation went from the worst to the best case. So the decision to stay in this accommodation wasn't a mistake and worth the $63 per night.

I will write about our city tour experiences in a separate entry :)