Granddaddy went to New Zealand for work in 2000 and came home raving about it. It's always been his goal to get back there and take Spiffer, so when he started talking about planning a trip, I told him he wasn't going without us! He graciously worked it around the girls' spring break schedule, and as much as John wanted to join us, his work travel schedule wouldn't allow it.
On Thursday, March 9th, we flew on Delta to LAX (via Salt Lake City), and then we spent a night there to see John before we headed overseas. We stayed at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills which was crawling with celebrities with the Oscars that were that Sunday!
Raising world travelers
What did our parents do without wifi and tablets??
You wouldn't believe the Tetris game that the guy played to get all of our luggage into this cab in LA! Girls had to hold the suitcases the whole time so that it wouldn't slide into Cressey's head
Spiffer had one in her lap too
We got to see John do his speaker thing! The girls and I got a shout out as we walked into the ballroom!
So happy to see Daddy after his long week of traveling
If you squint really hard, you can see the Hollywood sign out there over HG's head
Girl always finds a pool
Doing a little work with John
"Stop taking pics, MAMA"
And then we pigged out on room service- Cressey was there too, just sound asleep
Thanks to torrential rain (and a little bump in travel plans), we spent all day in the hotel bar until it was time to head to the airport.
Let's go to New Zealand!
Air New Zealand was amazing! We chose Premium Economy seats which were wide and had amazing leg room and a pop up leg rest. The bathrooms were much larger than American planes, and they offered wine with lots of refills!
Love that Bunny Monkey is still her go to
WE MADE IT!
The Auckland Hilton is out at the end of Prince's Wharf and gives you beautiful water views.
(We rolled in a rollaway bed for Cress)
We were so excited to sit down and eat a meal!
That's Cressey waving to you in that pool up there!
Wynyard Crossing pedestrian bridge
Snails!
Auckland is covered in urban playgrounds- as pretty as they are 'smart.' Lots of the toys were engineering in nature. This is Silo Park.
Daldy Street Park
Cressey did NOT like the fish market
We ate Wahlburger's take-out on the balcony and let the girls wave at all the ferries coming and going. And then early to bed!
The next morning, we took a short ferry ride (Auckland Transport) over to Devonport. We caught one on the pier right next to our hotel!
And they had this cool hammock thing along the pier as we walked over the catch the ferry
Good morning to Spiffer and GD!
But first, gelato! (in the Downtown Terminal building)
As soon as we hopped off the ferry in Devonport, the girls spotted this amazing park.
A few minutes into playing, the bottom fell out of the sky, and we went running for cover. One of the storekeepers recommended Manuka right across the street.
The best salmon risotto I've ever had
Time to tackle one of the 55 volcanoes in Auckland and the highest one on the north shore- Takarunga or Mt. Victoria
Made it to the top!
There's a disappearing cannon at the tippy top
Stumbled upon this little guy on the way down
Back to the park
Sisters caught working together
Cressey had been begging to buy a stuffed kiwi since she set foot on the ground in NZ, and she fell in love with a tie dye one at the Devonport ferry terminal. I talked her into waiting for our trip back home to buy it so she/I wouldn't have to carry it around all day. She was willing to wait, and man, she was happy to finally get her hands on "Cutie."
A little Facetime with our main men back at home
Time to conquer some fears...
HG was so brave! She tried everything our guide suggested. I watched proudly and did not participate! It was rainy and windy, and I was ready to get back inside. Cressey, Spiffer, and GD watched from the observation deck a few floors above us, and C was quite distressed and ready to have her mama back.
Got her mama back AND was given a consolation prize hat!
The staff were so nice and gave us a sweet "welcome" dessert.
Auckland Zoo- found this bird in the parking lot and thought he had escaped! But it turns out they are just regular old birds there.
Real kiwis! But in extreme darkness, very hard to see. You have to look for their beaks.
A baby rhino laying between the two adults
The chickens and birds were quite the entertainment
And so was the dragon on the playground
One Tree Hill or Maungakiekie, we climbed up to that statue at the top!
We finally made it!
Hiding out in the shade
A well deserved rest at the pool (but it was short lived because it was cold and windy)
We got dressed up cute to go to dinner with friends of GD and Spiffers', and I didn't get a single pic of us. I tried to bribe them with a selfie to get back in the hotel room. Only one was willing.
Ready for another day of adventures
The Sea Life Aquarium was AMAZING. It's all underground!
It starts off FREEZING COLD, and we had to survive going through this spinning tunnel....
BUT LOOK WHO WE FOUND ON THE OTHER SIDE...
A moving walkway
View from outside...because the FIRE ALARM went off and we had to evacuate. Luckily, we were in the gift store and on our way out. (The night before, we had to evacuate a shopping center where we were trying to eat dinner because of a fire alarm!)
While we waited for our bridge climb, we watched these fisherman at work.
Time to climb!
This was down in the bottom of one of the pilons where they had a septic system for the potties needed for construction.
Breakfast/dinner of champions (we found a very nice hotel chef that made us up plates of regular spaghetti)
We got to see sailboats go under the walking bridge!
Dinner at the Conservatory
We had dreamed of riding horses on a black sand beach while we were there. But a cyclone on Valentine's Day severely damaged the black sand beaches north of Auckland, and almost all coastal roads and beaches were closed. While we were there, we started reaching out to companies with horse trails on the beach to see if any had reopened. I got a response from Muriwari Beach Horse Treks, and they were planning on opening some rides in the next few days. Come to find out, we were the second ride on the FIRST DAY they were back open since February! We had to meet them at a side of the road location, and they drove us past the road closure and to the beach location where the horses met us. While the guides had to kind of make the trail as we rode, we were so excited to be able to be there and experience such a gift! It did not disappoint!
Dinner at Neptune, close to the hotel and plenty of kid options
HG and Spiffer spotted the Lighthouse from our hotel on the next pier over from us, so we walked over to see it one night. There is a HUGE Captain Cook statue inside a fully fluorescent lit 1950s style house. Bizarre but beautiful.
Sisters caught in the middle of their nighttime skin routine
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