From Sea to Shining Sea - SD to NZ

Off to the airport in San Diego and a quick little jaunt up to LAX for my direct flight on Air New Zealand. Now I should mention I normally don't like to chat when I fly - it's kind of my me-time to read and relax after typically running around before a trip. Well, no sooner did I step on the tarmac than this older man began asking me a few questions, which quickly turned into asking about my life story, and then switching seats on the plane to sit next to me, and finally asking for my email and facebook friend request, after of course telling me all about all the companies he runs, places he's traveled and in summary how awesome he is...needless to say I did not take him up on his request to grab dinner before my next flight. Thank goodness it was only an hour flight!

Quick side note - LAX does not have many options for food or drink once you go through security, which of course I discussed with Nata after I was already sitting at the gate. So I am doing my part and hopefully relaying this little tidbit of food knowledge for any of you venturing that way.
Now for my AirNZ flight - I was seated right behind the row with 2 screaming babies, awesome, but thankfully their parents had a gameplan which they executed to perfection and we had peace and quiet for most of the 12 hour flight. And I was in for a pleasant surprise, I had an awesome Kiwi seat mate named Antony who was returning from his 2 year work holiday abroad in London and then 2 weeks in the States. We commiserated on being 6'7" and the leg room when flying - no, I did not magically grow into a giant, but I do know the trials and tribulations as recounted by Pete. Final recap of the flight - 2 movies, 4 glasses of wine, 2 awesome meals and 6 hours of sleep. Air NZ - let's plan for the same awesomeness on my return to the States. Oh, and a brief shout-out to Nata for the brilliant gift of Jet Lag pills, which may just be the most amazing thing ever!

Now time for the Amazing Race tryouts to begin - for those of you who don't know, Elizabeth and I have talked for the past few years about how awesome we would be on this show mainly because we bring different strengths to the team. But in reality we haven't actually traveled together much and we tend to be pretty different in our styles, so let the adventures ensue.

1st Meal in Auckland - Lamb & Orzo Salad

Auckland – We decide to meander around town for a bit. I have my 1^st Flat White (coffee and milk) and then we’re off.  We find a cute café recommended by Lonely Planet tucked away in an art gallery and I have my 1^st NZ meal which includes a grilled lamb and orzo salad, while Bubba has an egg and prosciutto sandwhich – she loves her prosciutto.

Now Elizabeth has never been up the Sky Tower so I decide that we need to venture over to the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, which I am then informed is now only the 2^nd tallest. Well that changes everything – actually, we decided that simply riding an elevator for a view of the city wasn’t worth the $25 they want to charge for this profound experience. We did enjoy the Carnival Crossing "party in the streets" as much as I enjoy the diagonal cross in SD!

Some more wandering around the harbor and viaduct area, saw the America’s Cup boat, which the San Diego Yacht Club has been in fierce competition for over the years.  We sampled some of the local beers – Montieth’s Brewey Radler. Then we were off to the ferry terminal to head over to Waiheke, a little island just off the coast, which has fantastic wineries, and Elizabeth’s friends Matty NZ and Cap’t Steve  - our hosts for the next 24 hours!

Downtown Auckland - Sky Tower from the Ferry

Future Amazing Race Winners!

Waiheke – We made the smart decision to not rent scooters (thank you Pete for your sage advice) and had our own chauffeurs instead headed out for some wine tasting! We came to learn that Waiheke actually makes great Syrah’s on the island and the other wines are souced from other locations. We also discovered a great Cab Franc – totally different wine than Upstate NY or even Napa. And also sampled a "cheeky Rose`"!

Stonyridge Winery

Winery total 4 - Mudbrick, Jurassic Rock, Stonyridge, 

and Hay Paddock (Steve's family winery, with a few private bottles opened back at his place).

Our hosts Matty NZ and Cap’t Steve included a stop at the “best pizza in the world”, which was a little shack on the beach making  delicious wood fired pizza, and a stop at the local butcher shop. Did I mention that Matt is a chef and Steve’s family owns a winery, and we stayed in the guest cottage at the winemaker’s house with the most spectacular views of a private bay  – life doesn’t get much better? 

"Best Pizza in the World" sampling

Dinner included fresh lamb and sausage!

Our accommodations for the evening!

Day 2 / Coromandel – We decided to ferry over to Coromandel Town the next day as EB had never been over to the Peninsula during her time in NZ. We knew that our transportation and schedule logistics might be a bit ambitious but we decided to try and see both Hot Water Beach (you can dig holes in the sand and create your own hot tub) and Cathedral Cove. After some issues with the directions, we stopped to grab smoked mussels as a snack for the road  and headed down the 309. Driving in NZ is typically on 2-lane roads which half the time are unpaved, so we got to Hot Water Beach after about 1.5 hours and were told we could only dig at low tide, so we enjoyed some beers on the beach instead.

Hot Water Beach

Cathedral Cove

During the drive we decided to call an audible and not catch the ferry back to Auckland and stay the night in Coromandel. Unfortunately, we overestimated the availability of bus/shuttle services and accommodations and spent a few harried moments finally getting a place to stay and a 4am shuttle to the airport. So we headed to Cathedral Cove and thought we’d just wander down the path to the beach. EB left her shoes in the car (embracing her inner Kiwi) and 30 minutes later we finally reached the beach. We made it almost back to the top before a nasty rock jumped up and sliced open her toe.

Tramping (Kiwi Style)

We made it back into town around 8pm after a day in which we probably would have finished last during the Amazing Race - but we have some awesome memories and managed to squeeze in one more wine tasting at Purangi Winery - Feijoa wines were their specialities! Dinner was in town at Umu where we enjoyed some local scallops and braised beef cheek and local wine before heading to bed for our 4am wake up and flight down to Queenstown.

More from Kiwi Land and Queenstown in the next few days!