Control at Immigration Department
If you read an article in which I described what we had to arrange and handle before we traveled (partly for controls at the immigration department), you will probably be as surprised as me when I tell you that nobody checked us on arrival …
In fact, only for one person, we presented a passport to which we received a stamp. Then we headed for the dreaded BIOSECURITY. Here the clerk stopped us, took the arrival card and asked us for items in which we chose YES.
Note: While completing the Arrival Card, we weren’t quite sure about a lot of things, but if you don’t know, it’s better if you choose YES and then tell the clerk what you have. E.g. there was a question about swimming equipment. We chose YES because we have swimsuits with us. Just like a natural resource because we have bamboo brushes. It depends on the clerk how it evaluates.
He checked everything with us and said we could go. We had nothing essential to control. The X-ray check was without problem too as well as meeting with the handler.
Welcome to New Zealand
If you were expecting a wonderful welcome, I will disappoint you. Cloudy, cold, rain and wind – this is exactly what we got when we went out of the airport. We went back to the airport, unpacked warm clothes and changed clothes. Thank God for the winter boots! 🙂
The cheapest transportation from the airport to Auckland city center was by bus. The stop was right at the exit of the airport, where there was a kiosk where we could buy tickets. The price for both was 38 NZD. I was surprised when I saw a lady who informed before which bus is correct for everybody. We missed our bus (just a few seconds) and we had to wait for over half an hour. The lady apologized to us two times, and we just said why she apologized to us? That´s not her fault….
Auckland City and our first accommodation
Auckland City is part of Auckland, where most people live from all of Zealand. The terrain is hilly and I haven’t been too lucky in a street that wasn’t downhill or uphill. You go up and down all the time and if you plan a city walk like us, you will really know in the evening how the muscles start to hurt. But as the locals say, it’s a great gym. The core of the city is the main financial and business center, surrounded by several suburbs. One of them is Ponsonby, where our current housing is located. According to our hosts, the suburb is so safe that nobody locks up the house.
We live with one young couple in a small house. The house is cozy, we have our own room, the only problem what we solve is the fact that there is no heater. I mean, nobody has a heater here. They are not used to having built-in heating in the house. They only have small heaters that only turn on occasionally. The next day, I had to buy tights and warm socks (only in my case, Martin hasn´t the same problem as me). Basically, the temperature is the same inside and outside, so it is no wonder that I wear 3 layers of clothing and give myself a hot shower twice a day to get a bit warm: D
As for the construction of the house, it is the same as built in America. From wood and sheet metal, thin walls, nothing big, and as Martin described it when a hurricane comes, it will fall down quickly and they can build a new one. What we are most impressed about is the mixture of trees we see. In one garden you can see a conifer, a banana tree, a palm tree, etc. Our hosts have an orange tree, and neighbors have tangerines and lemons.
Timeshift
We are still fighting with this chapter. Compared to the Czech Republic, we are here 10 hours ahead and despite the fact that we sleep well and for a long time, we have a problem. Mostly we fall asleep at about 6 pm in the evening (that’s why we’ve never had dinner here) and I wake up around 4:00 am and can’t sleep. So I hope it will be after a few days away.
What do you find positive in this cold and rainy New Zealand weather?
When we stayed in Asia for a long time, I remember that I missed the changing seasons, when we enjoy the hot summer and after which the fall is coming, it is cold and you just want to make a hot cocoa, lay down under blanket and watch some movie, read a book or just relax. Now, I can do it here!
