An Unexpected Pleasure

Wednesday 21 June – Tuesday 27 June 2000;

Saturday 8 July 2000

After narrowly missing coups in the Solomon Islands and Fiji, and after some tough albeit rewarding slogs in Vanuatu, we were flagging.  As we came in to land at Auckland, the lady sitting next to Eric suddenly became extremely talkative and began recounting to him ad nauseam the saga of her trip to Tonga and how grateful she was to be back home, far away from rabid dogs, dismal food and unpleasant locals.  We were supposed to be flying there in two days time, but tried not to think about it too hard.  For now, it was enough to know we were about to land back in civilization as we knew it.

It seemed strange to find ourselves in a modern airport terminal with clean, functioning public toilets and to see signs with Hertz and Avis logos on them rather than a motley selection of hand-painted signs saying “Bob’s rent-a-truck” with arrows pointing off in some random direction.  We had no plans regarding what to do with our time here other than to buy a Lonely Planet New Zealand guidebook, hire a car and see a bit of Auckland and the north island before resuming our original flight path on to Tonga and then Samoa.

Less than five steps out of customs, we heard a voice shouting “Eric!  Pippa!” but convinced whoever it was couldn’t possible be calling to us (after all, who did we know who lived in Auckland?), we continued to make our way towards the car hire desks.  With that, a hand grabbed Eric’s shoulder and who should it be but David from Vanuatu.  What a small, small world.  Within the space of a few minutes, we had caught up with his latest news, informed him of our re-routing saga and decided to spend a day or two at his B&B in Te Kauwhata just off the main route from Aukland to Hamilton.

We enjoyed our two days with David, recharging our batteries, taking walks in the beautiful countryside and enjoying the fresh, open air.  The scenery made Pippa feel home sick; the green rolling hills covered in bushy grasses and sheep, reminded her of parts of England and even the cold, somewhat damp weather was reminiscent of home.

All too soon, we were bidding our farewells again and headed back north to Auckland, hoping to find another homely B&B for our remaining two nights.  We hit the jackpot with the Peace and Plenty Inn situated in Devonport, an attractive suburb on the tip of Auckland’s North Shore peninsula, just a 15 minute ferry ride across the water from the city centre.  It was pure bliss.  Not only were Graham and Carol the ultimate hosts but the rooms were cozy, spotless and included a complimentary glass of port.  And the breakfasts, ah the breakfasts… 

In fact, it was in part due to the comfort and hospitality we found at the Peace and Plenty that the idea of extending our stay in New Zealand first came up.  We had only a day to explore the sights of Auckland and knew there was plenty remaining to fill another day or two, besides which, we were simply enjoying being in such a wonderful country, even if it was proving to be a little chilly.  And so, we moved our flights back another couple days and set out to explore more of what the City of Sails had to offer.

Auckland is surrounded by water, boasts a stunning area of volcanic hills, and has a cosmopolitan feel about it.  Among the highlights on the sightseeing list was the Auckland Museum, where we saw a superb performance of Maori music and dance and also an exceptionally impressive collection of South Pacific artifacts, many of which we recognized from the countries we had already visited.  Totally by chance, we came across a small chocolate-cum-coffee shop that President Clinton had frequented on a trip to Auckland a few years back.  There are now plaques adorning the chairs in which both he and his daughter Chelsea sat and yes, our bums have been there too!

The day before our re-re-scheduled departure, we decided to make a call to Tonga and book a hotel ahead of our arrival.  Never before had we planned ahead like this but given that our flight was to land at 03.00am, we wanted to make sure there was a hotel shuttle waiting for us lest we were forced to while away the wee hours in the airport terminal waiting for a taxi.  The call proved to be prudent, as everything was full.  All the holidaymakers originally bound for Fiji were now re-routing to Tonga as the Fijian conflict worsened.

Facing the prospect of another Solomon Island experience where all the flights were full and we couldn’t get to see as much of the country as we wanted, we decided to make a radical change to our itinerary.  We would stay in New Zealand and spend the time allotted to Tonga and Samoa touring what we could of the South Island before flying on to Hawaii, the last destination on our trip.