Today would be another traveling day as we flew from Wellington to Auckland and our last day with Josh's parents. We had a relaxing morning with a breakfast of coffee, breads, and for the brave...leftover ice cream! I managed to take a quick bath in the deep soaking tub after breakfast.
We didn't need to check out of the hotel until 11 and our flight departed at 12:30, however, in order to assuage Josh's parents fear of missing their flight to Auckland that could in turn lead them to miss their return flight to the states, we left the hotel around 10 on another shuttle.
We were the only people in the shuttle that morning so Josh and I asked the driver if he'd mind driving by the Beehive so that Josh's folks could see the parliament building. Our driver loved the challenge and proceeded to not only show us the Beehive but other historic buildings in Wellington. He asked when our flight was leaving and he said we had plenty of time to drive around.
We checked out a historical church and then drove up Mount Victoria for a great view of Wellington and the harbor. It was awesome and the driver gave us some commentary along the way. When we reached the airport, the scenic 45 minute ride cost $40 (only $10 more than the regular drive we made the day before).
We checked in at the Qantas counter, each couple going to different agents since Josh's parents had to get boarding passes for all their flights back to the United States and Josh and I were just flying up to Auckland. Talk about bad service again!
As we walked up to the counter, I smiled and said hi to our girl who wasn't in a good mood. I asked if there were any emergency exit row seats on the flight. She said no. I asked if we could move forward in the plane as we were seated in row 25 toward the back of the plane and I like to be over the wing because of less turbulence. She got really confused when I asked how the seats were configured (2x2 or 3x3) but managed to get us up to row 15. I didn't say thanks as we walked away as I didn't appreciate her attitude.
We walked over to where Josh's parents were chatting away with their guy. I asked if they had emergency exit row seats on their flight from Auckland to Chicago (not available). How about the few seats that are 2x2 rather than 3x3 starting in row 70 on that plane (the agent said he liked my thinking) but those were unavailable too. I think they were placed in row 26 which depending on the aircraft could have been in a more private area of Economy but we haven't talked to them since they've returned home so I don't know how that went for them yet.
All of that sorted, we headed to the lounge area to wait to board our flight. The monitor I was watching kept saying CHECK IN for our flight as other flights would say go to departure lounge. Well, about 10 minutes before our flight was scheduled to depart we decided to walk down to our gate. Good thing we did because after going through a non-invasive x-ray screening (we didn't have to take off our shoes and the amount of liquid we were carrying was irrelevant) we saw that there was a line of people boarding our flight.
Josh and I boarded the flight ahead of his parents and went to our seats in row 15 where an older lady was sitting in Josh's window seat but we let it go without saying anything. Then, we looked up to see that not only were Josh's parents sitting in the emergency exit row seat on the right side of the plane but also after they shut the cabin doors, 2 rows of emergency exit row seats on the left side were completely open (that's 6 seats that the check-in girl could've given us) GRRR!
After take off, Josh and I moved seats to the emergency exit row directly across from his parents. The leg room was much better and because we were spread across both sides of the plane, it allowed us to take pictures of all the volcanos on the North Island. Mount Taranaki (first picture below) was clearly visible from our window and Josh's parents took photos of Mount Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe (second picture). We had really good flying conditions until we landed in Auckland to gray and cloudy skies.
In Auckland, Josh and I picked up our bags but Josh's parents were luggage free until they reached the states. We left the domestic terminal and walked outside to the international terminal.
We were ready for lunch at the food court. Kathy and I had some McDonald's and Josh and his dad ate Indian food. I tried some of Josh's chicken curry and rice and it was really good. After lunch, we called our rental car agency to pick us up from the airport since the company was located 5 minutes away. We said our goodbyes to Josh's parents and told them we'd see them in a couple of months.
We found our shuttle waiting outside for us and our driver was such a friendly Maori lady who told us about her daughter joining the NZ Army and her son who got to go to Disneyland because of the Make-A-Wish foundation (he has kidney problems). We told her about our travels and she said she hoped to see the South Island some day. To hear native Kiwis say that they haven't seen a lot of their own country makes Josh and I feel beyond guilty for all our travels...it makes us feel dirty. Like, who are we to get to see all these amazing things? There's no doubt that we've been blessed.At the car company, we quickly filled out some forms and we were on our way to our Auckland hotel. But first, we had to miss our turn on the highway twice! I said if we were going to get lost, it was good that we were on our own and not wasting his parents time. We got the directions figured out and we checked into the hotel around 4:30.
The Copthorne Anzac hotel looks really 1970s-ish on the outside but has been recently remodeled. We were first given a room on the 4th floor but when I asked to change, the girl put us in a corner room on the 5th floor (one off from the top). When we went upstairs and into our room, I got the harbor view I'd been wanting in Wellington and here I hadn't even known to ask for it!
Being a corner room, we had windows on two walls and also a small balcony (just big enough to stand on). It was really windy though so we didn't stand out there too long.The room was nice for the most part (considering it was $103 NZD in Auckland) but the stained pillows were disgusting! I called for more pillows and those were slightly better. Everything else was okay but on my comment card I recommended buying new pillows. We'll see if I hear back from the company.
After relaxing in the room for a bit, we were ready to check out the city and grab some dinner. The hotel is only a 10 minute walk to the Sky Tower-the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. We took the scenic walk (although it was dark) through the University of Auckland campus. The clock tower is located on campus.
We didn't really follow the map because we could see the Sky Tower so we just kept walking towards it. We did get momentarily sidetracked when I saw a sign for Dunkin Doughnuts. These are my most favorite doughnuts...not Krispy Kreme (puke). The shop was closed, however, we made plans to have breakfast here the next day. Score!
Just as we reached the Sky Tower and sat on a ledge to look up at the behemoth tower, it started to rain. We went inside the building to have a look around. There was no reason to go to the top tonight given the rain and darkness.
We did manage to visit the casino though. That place was a madhouse! I've never seen anything like it~not even Vegas comes close. Josh said it was probably so crowded because it's the only casino (besides some poker machines in bars) in Auckland. It was also really hot in there!
Josh and I found the roulette tables. The $2.50 tables were beyond capacity and the $5.00 tables were crowded but not completely full (standing room only though). We decided that we'd bet $20 total and see how we fared. When we placed our bets on the outside of the table though, the dealer told us that those spots were a $10 minimum. Well, that meant Josh and I would get one bet each.
I made my bet and I won. Woo hoo! Now, we had $40 total. Josh still wanted to make his bet but he did it so fast that I totally missed the ball spinning and everything only to find out that Josh won too! Now, we had $60 total. And with that, we walked away to cash out $40 richer than 10 minutes ago. Very lucky. I told Josh we hadn't come to Auckland with the purpose of gambling so we didn't need to stay and play. It was just nice that we came out ahead when we walked in on a whim!
Back outside, we contemplated where to go for dinner. Mexican? Thai? We were really in the mood for Subway and then we spotted one at the back of a convenience store. We split a foot long Club and enjoyed free Diet Coke refills while listening to pop music.
We took the long way back to the hotel i.e. we got a little lost but not too bad as we knew that as long as we were walking uphill we were going in the right direction. Back at the hotel, we went to sleep around midnight.
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