...I wake up with an aching back and drive off hunting for breakfast....I notice a great many cats and other small animals killed on the road. There was literally one roadkill every 15 minutes as I drove....I realize New Zealand seems like a very old school destination. Rental cars seem old, roads seem quite old and music on the radio is vintage too, which I love. All in all a very relaxing, laid back, nostalgic travel place, like a trip back in time. Also: Hibis...

...I realize that internet is severely limited here: mobile data plans are expensive and free wifi in hotels is scarce. You have to pay for data consumed and that sucks....I encounter "real kiwifruit filled chocolates". Hmmm I'll pass....I notice my hostel is actually a YMCA establishment. Fancy that......I observe a great many American fast food chains: Carl's Jr., Wendy's, Denny's....I conclude that this being summer, weather is actually quite c...

...I wake up to the sound of the usual bird chirping alarm on my phone and reach out to silence it. To find out it's not the phone, it's tropical birds outside my window....I go to buy some supplies and to my joy I discover a flavor of KitKat unknown to me before: double chocolate!...I explore downtown Auckland a little - it seems a quiet, sleepy town, especially at Christmas. It's also very hilly, like San Francisco almost. Apart from the enormous an...

...we land in Auckland and I complete the New Zealand immigration form. They're the first people in my experience who ask not only about my flight number but also my seat number (!)...wifi at the airport is still slow (to upload blog photos for example) but light years better than Shanghai's...I claim my bag and clear immigration at an impressive pace; but before I can shower my praises on them I get stuck in a mile long bio security check line...Aaargh.....