August 7, 2005
Well, we successfully landed in Auckland at 5:30 in the morning. The 12+ hour flight was a total breeze; I don't think either of us has ever had so much sleep on a flight! Air New Zealand knows how to do it... they sit you down, feed you, give you free wine and put a movie on. No better way to guarantee that most of the flight will be snoozing within a couple of hours. We were sitting way in the back, but that turned out to be a good thing, as there was an empty seat next to Lav and I had a nifty aisle seat.
At the airport, things went smoothly as well, save for a triple-take that the immigration official gave me when he looked at my passport photo. I suppose I do look different when I'm 35-40 lbs. heavier. Oh, and Lav's hiking shoes were so dirty that the customs guy had to wash them for her. How embarrassing.
Now for the real challenge -- the rental car. The steering wheel is on the right side... totally weird. As if that isn't enough, you have to drive on the other side of the road. If this isn't a recipie for disaster... somehow, we managed to get through the day with only a few shouts of "watch out!" from Lav.
So, of course it's WINTER here since we're on the other side of the equator. No matter though, as long as it doesn't rain too much, right? RIGHT. And what starts happening once we hit the highway? Oh, nothing but a little TORRENTIAL DOWNPOUR action. After an hour of rain, even Lav was looking a bit concerned. At one point, the rain was literally coming down in sheets and the skies were dark and gray... uh oh...
Not to worry. After about an hour and a half of driving, we spotted what looked to be a clearing in the skies. Suddenly, the sun appeared in all its splendorous glory, and what had been a dark and gloomy day was quickly transformed into an incredibly beautiful one. We were driving right alongside the coastline at the time, somewhere near Jack's bay... the air was clean, the water was sparkling, and the views were amazing!
The weird thing about this trip today so far is our appetites. It seems like we're constantly looking for food to eat. We decided to cruise into a town called Russell for lunch. Russell is a tiny little waterfront village that was one of the original places where Western settlers landed. This is all somewhat controversial because of the cultural imperialism and general misdeeds of the missionaries and other settlers. In fact, Russell used to be a fairly raunchy little place -- it was a center of prostitution, booze, etc. Now, of course, it's been fancied up a bit and acts as a sleepy little getaway for locals and international tourists.
We stopped at this little cafe to get soup and a sandwich. We spotted a "steak and veggie" pie and decided to venture into our first experience with a New Zealand meat pie. Not spectacular here, having been pre-prepared and heated in the microwave, but I still have some high hopes for the concept. The soup really hit the spot though. We met an employee (maybe owner?) of the restaurant, who used to work at Siemens Communications in San Jose, of all places, back in the early 90's. 
He took off after a couple of years because the real estate was so expensive... he had no idea that prices have skyrocketed even more since then. That got me thinking that so far, folks living in the area don't seem to show a huge amount of interest in the United States, other than the main stories. Maybe they've found their paradise here and are satisfied with the comings and goings here. After lunch, we were stuffed; and happy. It's in those times of total content that things can take an unexpected twist... (cue dramatic music).
It seems that I left our car lights on while we were exploring the town and having lunch, so when we got back, the battery was DEAD!!! ARG! Lucky for us, before we even knew what to do, some local Kiwis spotted our trouble and offered to give us a jump. In less than 5 minutes, we were on our way! Thank goodness the locals are so friendly!
Next, we hopped onto the car ferry for the short journey over to Paihia. Since we've been looking at homes back in California 
(and entertaining wild dreams of building our own custom-designed home), we've kept our eyes open at the architectural style of the homes here in New Zealand.
Yes, maybe it's a bit of a shame that we can't get our minds off of the whole real estate chaos even when we're on vacation, but we did happen upon this amazing home just off of the ferry dock. It was for sale, and for a pretty price I'm sure, because it had a fantastic view.
Apparently, Paihia is a bit of a hot spot in the summer. Since it's the low season right now -- and probably more because it was Sunday -- things were very mellow. We took a quick stroll through town and then headed out for Keri Keri, a "Mediterranian-style cafe-culture orchard region" according to our guide. Before we arrived at our bed and breakfast, we spotted a winery 
that was open. That was all the justification I needed to stop the car for a tasting.
The Cottle Hill winery is run by Barbara and Mike, two very friendly American expatriates who first arrived in New Zealand back in 1992, when they sailed their boat from San Diego to the Bay of Islands -- a trip that took about 8-9 months! They only thought they'd be there for a little while, but before they knew it, they purchased a property and started making wine! The wines were very nice... we tasted a perfectly thirst-quenching Sauvignon Blanc predominating with green apple and tropical fruit, a well-rounded Chardonnay (2/3 barrel fermented w/ secondary malo blended with 1/3 unoaked, steel-fermented -- prominent vanilla from the oak), 
a tart-cherry Pinot Noir and a well-balanced Cabernet-Merlot blend. The star of the tasting was a grappa they make on site... super smooth, with a faintly sweet butterscotch finish. YUM! It was a lot of fun talking to the couple about our plans. Thanks for the hospitality, and lots of luck with the winery guys!
At long last, we arrived at our bed and breakfast, which was located on a breathtaking property owned by our host, Steve. Steve is originally from the U.K. (born in London, grew up in York), spent some time in Japan teaching, and now teaches mobility skills for the blind here in the North Island. He runs the bed and breakfast as a hobby and interest, and spends his other free time maintaining the landscaping on the enormous grounds of the property. The whole 
landscape was so lush and splendorous (like the rest of New Zealand) and was so private and serene. We stayed in a detached studio that Steve renovated and remodeled himself. Two of the neighbor's sheep hang out just behind the studio, and vistas of the rolling hills are at nearly every window.
Steve was such a friendly person and so easy to talk to that we ended up going out to dinner together that night at a little bistro in town. 
They served the most enormous portions of food, and we had our first sampling of local salmon and lamb. Delicious. Add a couple of glasses of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and a terrific evening of conversation about personal interests, culture, politics, food, lifestyle, and the evening just melted away. We eventually returned to the property and marveled at how bright the stars were in the clear night sky. Then we retired back to our room and had an incredibly restful night of sleep. A perfect end to a perfect first day in New Zealand.
