Rach picked us up at 8am to take us into catch the SouthWest Coachlines coach to Cockburn Central - it was a quick and comfortable trip and Katie and Layla were waiting for us when we arrived.
Later on Jase braved the Friday afternoon traffic to take us out to the airport, arriving pretty early but that gave him a chance to get through the Roe Highway/Kwinana Freeway bottleneck before dark!!!
Check in, bag drop and customs were done with quickly and then we had a couple of drinks while waiting for Greg and Jasmin to arrive. We boarded on time and quickly settled into the Premium Economy seating which gave us loads of leg and elbow room! Luckily for us the aisle seat of the block of three was empty and as soon as the seat belt light went out Mumsie shifted over to give us storage space between our seats.
From then on the flight went seamlessly - the Air New Zealand service and meals were outstanding and we actually arrived in Auckland half an hour early. For all the comfort and space we didn't get a lot of sleep unfortunately, but the flight was only 5.5 hours, so we were pretty fresh when we got through the formalities and found a spot to have a cuppa and plan our 14 hour stopover.
It was still dark and very cold outside, so we yakked for an hour or so and then tried to find some storage lockers to put our carryon bags. We were eventually directed to the Domestic Terminal about 10 minutes walk away where we paid $10 and stowed our things under lock and key! We then caught the bus into the city and then had a wander along the new developed wharf area which has changed the face of the Auckland waterfront hugely! All the old finger wharves are being redeveloped - one now is home to a Hilton Hotel - and there are a variety of shops, cafés and restaurants in place of the sad old rotting timbers!
We then caught the Hop On/Hop Off bus and spent 3 or 4 hours seeing the sights of the city. Mumsie and I hadn't seen the city since 1999 and were amazed at the prosperity that now is clearly visible all over the place. Lots of new high rise buildings, great transport services and many visitors enjoying the facilities.
In the afternoon we took a harbour cruise and enjoyed the magnificent Huaraki Gulf from a water perspective which filled in an hour or so and was most enjoyable.
After the cruise we caught the bus back out to the airport, collected our bags and did all the procedures to get us into departures. We had a fair wait and were most relieved when our flight was called, setting us on the lengthy flight to the good old US of A and the real start of our holiday!
The 777-300 plane had been only recently refitted - new paint scheme and refurbished interior which included the popular Space Seat in Premium Economy. The Space Seat is an individual pod similar to the ones in Business except that it doesn't lie flat - however the space and white leather seating made for one enjoyable flight! Once dinner was finished I managed to get a few hours sleep albeit broken by a bit of turbulence and people moving about, but at least it was some shut eye! Once again the Air New Zealand service was outstanding - attentive attendants and beaut meals.