New Zealand: Day 2
January 4, 2013
The day was bright and clear when I woke up, and I had nothing to do for the day as other members of my tour group were arriving in the city for the tour that will take up the major part of my New Zealand visit beginning tomorrow morning. I sent Ceillhe Sperath of TIME Unlimited Tours a text asking if I could "make up" the tour I had missed due to the flight delay. She said I could, so today was all about Auckland.
And what a beautiful city it is. It is surrounded by 55 extinct volcanoes (New Zealand sits on the famous Pacific "ring of fire" so it has its history of seismic events, some major ones as recent as two years ago), so we were able to get some really incredible views of this city seated in aquamarine waters. My favorite part of the day was a few quiet minutes spent in the Wintergarden, a pair of greenhouses. The Wintergarden had some glorious botanical displays, and I took plenty of photographs. The day is not quite over yet (I haven't decided what to do about dinner yet), but I wanted to go ahead and file my day's report.
I also have to give a plug for TIME Unlimited Tours. They really do bend over backwards to take care of their guests. They also run tours to Hobbiton, only about 45 minutes from Auckland, one of the few parts of Lord-of-the-Rings Land I'm going to miss. Although New Zealand is proud of native son Peter Jackson and are delighted with the tourism the movies have generated, some have said they're "bored of the Rings"! I just may have to go see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey again tonight!
However, before I could make decisions about what to do with my evening, I received a humbling lesson on why it is so important to be unfailingly nice and friendly and relentlessly upbeat even in the face of apparent obstacles. My guides at TIME Unlimited Tours so appreciated my attitude and demeanor, they took me out to dinner at a restaurant about half an hour outside of Auckland called Elevation. The restaurant is well named for it sits high atop a ridge with commanding views of downtown Auckland. We watched a glorious sunset, and then the city below us began to glisten with shimmery diamonds. The company and the food were wonderful.
I remember reading once that travel is a test of character. I believe this is very true, and it is gratifying that my character is being deemed worthy of receiving special treats such as the one I received this evening. No, my plug for TIME Unlimited Tours had nothing to do with my dinner invitation; my hosts didn't even know about it until I told them at dinner. Still, I'm happy to give a ringing endorsement to this really fine group of people.
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Last revised: August 27, 2015.
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