Kia Ora from Aotearoa

New Zealand Air Flight

 Hiking to the top of Mt. Albert in Auckland, NZ

View of Sky Tower in Auckland

Kia Ora from Aotearoa (Hello from New Zealand/Land of the Long White Cloud)! Land of the Long White Cloud describes our first day in Auckland perfectly. It has been extremely overcast with several small spats of rain. After a quick (truly it went by fast) 14 hour plane ride, we have finally landed in Auckland. The entire travel process was quick, easy and almost a blur. After taking the shuttle to the wrong address and after ending up paying nearly $70 NZD we arrived at a family friend's house. We couldn't be more blessed because Mary and Andy are wonderful and the epitome of the perfect host. Mary has shown us around a little, helped exchange money and taught us many useful words. Conversing with Mary is always fun. She is very upbeat and full of life and a true joy to be around. We went on a short hike today and found a great lookout of all of Auckland. We plan to hit up a beach in the next few days and explore more of Auckland. We will be in Auckland for about a week and will update with more adventures as soon as we embark on some!