WELCOME!

Welcome to our NZ trip blog. We travelled Down Under from April 28th until May 13th, and we hope you'll enjoy following our adventures!

The trip was pulled together quickly as an alternative to our planned trip to Fiji, when political unrest caused us to change our plans at the last minute. With financial help from the Canadian Legion Branch 168 in Iqaluit, and with logistical support from Canada's High Commission in NZ and the Ngai Tahu Maori, we were able to assemble an exciting itinerary.

Here's our group, viewed against the backdrop of Auckland's harbour.(Front row L-R) Sylvia Kalluq, Heather Arqviq, Neevee Wilkins, Teevi Mackay; (Middle row L-R) Nancy Mike, Elizabeth Ryan, Karen Tutanuak, Siobhan Iksiktaaryuk, Kathleen Merritt, Paula Rumbolt, Lyla Haulli; (Back row L-R) Annie Petaulassie, Reanna Sateana, Murray Angus, Hugh John Karpik, Natasha Mablick, Kevin Iksiktaaryuk, "Nooks" Lindell, Jerry Komaksiutiksak, Bert Rose, Marvin Atqittuq.

DAY 1: GETTING THERE

The day has finally arrived! We all got to the airport and through security on time, and without a hitch.For some, the long flights to NZ were the beginning of their stop-smoking campaign. Some, like Kathleen, Reanna, Heather and "Batman" (a.k.a. Natasha) couldn't resist one last "fill-up"!We flew first to Newark, NJ, across the river from New York City where we could see the Statue of Liberty and other landmarks from the plane. It was our first big airport to find our way through, but we had 3 hours, so it was no problem.We then flew all the way across the US to Los Angeles - a five-and-a-half hour flight. We had great views of the mountains ...and the Grand Canyon ... Everyone was excited about being in LA - even if it was only at the airport!!

DAY 3 (Hey, what happened to Day 2 ?)

The next, and biggest leg of the trip came next. While everyone back home was enjoying their usual Wednesday, we skipped right over it and went straight from Tuesday to Thursday. Weird!We left LA at about 11:15 PM on Tuesday, and arrived in Fiji right on schedule about 10.5 hours later, in time to enjoy our first Fijian sunrise.During our 3-hour stopover at the Fiji airport, we were entertained by some indigenous Fijian musicians, and then got some beautiful views of the islands when we left.It was a 3-hour flight from Fiji to New Zealand, and it was great to see the Pacific Ocean in the morning light. As we approached NZ, we got beautiful views of the landscape below.Auckland is by far the largest city in New Zealand: its population of 1.4 million is more than a quarter of the country's 4.1 million people. Our hostel is right on the main street, so we're surrounded by tons of shops and restaurants. The street life is very vibrant, with broad sidewalks and lots of people out. It's the beginning of Fall here, so people are beginning to find it cool, but it feels warm to us! The evening ended with a lovely dinner at a nearby steak house. Good food, and within our budget - can't do better than that!

DAY 4: A DAY OF PLAY IN AUCKLAND

Our first full day in New Zealand was spent resting up from the long journey, and enjoying the city of Auckland and its surrounds.

The day began in the best of all possible ways: by sleeping in! (Actually, many of us woke up in the wee hours because of the time zone differences we've just experienced, but most got back to sleep for a while afterwards)

After a late brunch together, we headed down to the harbour and caught a ferry out to one of the many islands near Auckland. The ferry ride was great, as it gave us some much-needed fresh air, and a great view of the city.The 35-minute ferry ride took us to Waiheke Island, a popular tourist island with diverse and lush vegetation, and several small towns and villages situated alongside beautiful harbours and bays. We took a local bus all the way across the island and came to the end at a long and gorgeous beach. Not too many locals were around or in swimming (for them, the season has ended), but for us, it was wonderful! We had so much fun!!We swam and played for a couple of hours before catching the bus and the ferry back "home" to Auckland.

DAY 5: GETTING RESTED & GETTING READY

Saturday marked our last day in Auckland before we head south to a busy schedule of meetings and performances. We used the day to get laundry done, and do shopping for clothes, gifts and other things.

Aside from going out for our meals together, the only organized outing today was to the Sky Tower, Auckland's version of the CN Tower. It was only a few blocks from the hostel, and rose up the equivalent of a 62-story building. For many of us, it was actually quite scary, especially when we stood on the glass floor with nothing below, or leaned on the windows to look down.
After doing that, we spread out and went shopping up and down the main commercial street outside the hostel. Thank goodness there were bank machines on every block!