Munich, Dubai, Bali and finally Auckland

30 hours later (after leaving the front door), after many airplane meals, Sudoku puzzles and movies, we finally arrived in Auckland.

The first hurdle, as always, was whether our luggage survived the journey with us 😀 Thank God, it did, and then we went to the baggage control... since New Zealand is so isolated and the nature is unique, we had to go to "Biosecurity" first. Luckily, the guy at the control took away our sandwich from the airplane (which would have cost us a $300 fine) and then we went to the hiking shoe check... they were cleaned by the control...

If we had known that, we would have brought more shoes from our shoe cabinet - everything looks like new 😉 especially my white Reebok shoes would have preferred the thorough cleaning rather than the domestic bathtub after the last 3-day workshop in the Swabian Alps including a visit to a farm...

After finally getting through, we finally went to take a shower, not very comfortable as it is public, but in the end it felt better than the hygiene condition suggested.

The journey to Auckland was easy and the bus stopped right in front of the hostel... only the check-in was not possible at 8 am... so we first stored our luggage, took a small tour, and then nothing stood in the way of exploring the city.

Followed by Dennis, who was the next familiar contact after all the Germans on the plane. The three of us had breakfast together and exchanged our plans and made plans for the day.

First thought after a café and croissant was to get a little overview of the area and visit the Les Mills Studio 😂 sooner than expected, we headed to Victoria Street... after I already tested my knowledge of the area with the VR goggles with Corinna & Thomas, we quickly found the studio... so we could sign up for bikes for Sprint with Glen and The Trip with Tau. We were also allowed to look around, and immediately the excitement sparked.

After that, we ended up at the skytower to see Auckland from above and get oriented. It's not as small as you might think ;) and as it turned out, we met Germans here again, with whom we also stood in line next to each other on the plane to Saxony and also at the airport security check.. such a small world and cities...

With the view of the nearby islands, we then came up with the idea of ​​going to Waiheke Island. 40 minutes by ferry and we reached a super beautiful, quiet and scenic island with vineyards and fish & chips. What more could you want 😁 especially when you sit in the restaurant and get 3 dishes because Thomas snatched someone else's food at the food counter..

in the end, visibly exhausted, with sunburn and on the way back to Auckland with a view of the skyline and ready for bed... it didn't take long until the evening skytower view and a chai tea latte.

The next morning, with "more awake" eyes, we went to Cali Press for breakfast, which I had already imagined visiting in Germany.. we used the extensive breakfast to book our ferry to the South Island, where we were once again late.. so it became the 23rd of December at 2:30 in the morning when we can take the ferry 😂 we will see if that is enough time to explore the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, Hobbiton, glowworms, Taupo, the crossing, and possibly more of the West...

Strengthened and with plans, we first strolled through the shopping street to complete missing pieces of clothing and check the grocery stores to estimate prices. At noon, we headed straight to Sprint and The Trip, where for 70% of the readers, the interesting part ends 🤣

For all Hardys and Les Mills colleagues - we are more than thrilled... the studio is awesome, the people are super friendly, and Sprint with Glen was cool (what biceps does that guy have...), The Trip was great with Tau, including dizziness from the giant screen, and the new Cycle Studio is insane!!! We saw Corey in the outdoor area during his PT sessions and we are already excited for the next few days with Grit with Erin, Attack with Lisa, Pump with Glen, and Bodycombat with Rachel & Dan..

Originally, we wanted to go to Mount Eden today, but after a late lunch and wandering around a bit, the jet lag caught up with us and we are dog tired.. so relaxing is the order of the day in order to approach the next few days refreshed...