Auckland

The trip to Heathrow turned out to be completely trouble free. The roads were clear of snow and the the bus was on time. The plane also took off dead on time and the flight with China Southern (economy) was much better than we had anticipated. We had read some reviews of the airline which were far from complimentary but it was as good as any economy flight we have made and in some aspects better than most. The cabin staff were charming, all very young, pleasant and helpful, they bowed before giving announcements. The meals were probably the best airline meals I have had. We had a little video presentation of shiatsu type exercises to do, massaging certain pressure points to reduce stress, encourage blood flow and 'repel wind!'
The six hour stopover at Guangzhau in China was a bit of a drag, especially when we realised that we were paying £10 each for a cup of coffee. The price was not a tourist price, it was up on the board. We got the decimal point in the wrong place initially and thought it was very cheap. Maybe coffee in China was just a bad choice and it should have been tea.
The final twelve hours of the journey went more slowly and boredom, discomfort and tiredness had started to set in.
The arrival at Auckland airport was fine and we soon got a transfer to the Hostal, where after a very good shower we sat outside with a selection of young people, including two British guys, and drank a few beers. The Hostal is fully booked, two people were passed on to somewhere else as we sat there, and absolutely heaving with young backpackers, but I went straight to sleep at about 22.30. I woke a bit in the night, but then slept on until 09.00 this morning.
We spent this morning doing a bit of shopping, a SIM for our phone, a NZ USB plug and a few other essentials. We won't do any serious s!hopping until we've picked the van up on Saturday. We went to the tourist information centre and found everything we wanted, maps, camping guides, and it was all free. Everything here seems to be aimed at encouraging tourism. Then we took a ferry across to a very nice residential area, called Devonport, very quiet and suburban with some lovely old clapboard houses with wide decks and garden stocked full of hibiscus and plumbago, all very Victorian colonial. We climbed an (extinct) volcano and had lovely views over the harbour and back to Auckland City. Then we took a: coastal! walking path taking us through an area of WW1 fortifications, old pill boxes and underground tunnels, back to the ferry area and a late lunch/tea. We did a bit of snack food shopping on the way back and now we are sitting outside once more with a bottle of wine. Someone was playing a pleasant guitar just now and it is all very easy going, just what we wanted, a mix of nationalities but English the main spoken language, people exchanging travel experiences and plans. A good choice, a gentle and easy going introduction to a country which, on one day's experience, also appears to friendly, easy going, and accommodating. What next - well another day in Auckland tomorrow, maybe another ferry trip to some volcanic islands, the pick up the van and we the trip really begins. Very exciting.