Auckland Ahoy!

17 May 2006

And so this little big adventure has finally gotten off the ground. After three weeks of saying my goodbyes, visiting with friends until the cool of morning and sorting the final administrative stuff we got to the airport, packed and ready to go. Truth be told, I had to repack like 3 times to get everything in! Almost all our loved ones made it to the airport, so to all 60 of you, thanks a million! The final goodbyes were as hectic as expected and luckily passport control let me pass with red bleary eyes and all…

As I sat in a comfy plane seat, memories flew around me like Jozi’s lights far below. Ok I admit it, for the umpteenth time I got totally overwhelmed as the image of family and friends passed from reality to memory. Their mouths said go, be happy, we love you, good luck but their eyes whispered ‘please stay’… All of a sudden a familiar voice pulled me back to the present. John yelled at me, wide eyed: “Dude, check that plane, it’s coming right at us! Dude, check it out!” You should have seen his jaw hit the ground when I told him “No bru, that’s OUR plane’s wingtip light!” With this little piece of stand-up comedy 3 days of hilarious travel kicked into high gear. We arrived at the wonderful Dubai airport at 05:45 with a mere temperature of 29 degrees centigrade which rose to 39 by 08:45. Dubai really is an awe inspiring place. I kid you not. Man made islands (which is the only green thing for miles), huge hotels and massive skyscrapers. The glass covered airport terminal resembles a creature out of a Stephen Spielberg film and from nowhere this man made oasis of steel jumps out of the desert like a mechanical zit, spurting gold imported from all over the world and sold and record low prices. No really people, of all the breath taking places in the world, why the hell would you want to come to fake islands and shopping malls in the desert. I never really understood how the super rich would fly halfway across the world only to shop in the desert… Then again it could be that their super expensive fake body-parts have a natural affinity for the man-made experience. One day I will visit this city again, meet it’s people and see all it has to offer… outside the shopping malls and fake stuff :o) We had some really funny moments on Dubai Airport though. There was some problem when Annelize went through the metal detector upon which she asked the Arab in perfect Afrikaans “Moet ek nou regtig my bangles afhaal?” I also tripped an alarm in the metal detector and was asked to remove my belt… I got about 2 inches from a body cavity search… Thank goodness the detector shut up after that! Our next stop was in Singapore which is breathtaking from the air with multicolored lights dotting the landscape like precious gems. The third leg of our flight was from Singapore to Brisbane. For the first time in my life I had 4 seats to myself and slept like a king!

John was slightly constipated by all the airline food and completed his mission by taking a huge dump the moment we reached Australia. :o) Seeing New Zealand for the first time really blew me away. All the travel books in the world could not have prepared me for what I saw. Huge beaches of the North west coast, emerald green hills and the Islands of Auckland all greet you as you approach Auckland airport. Every single person I spoke to in the airport was friendly and helpful and everything was clean, extremely clean. Did I mention how clean everything was? :o) I woke up today to a beautiful blue, cloudless sky. Seagulls welcomed the sun and a gentle breeze invited me outside. I was relaxed, a scarce experience for me indeed. Driving to Auckland city was a weird experience yet again. No matter how many 1^st world countries you’ve been to, it’s always amusing when you stop at a traffic light and feel something’s missing only to find there’s no people selling junk or demanding your change. People actually drive with their laptop bags on the passenger seat having the window down! I have not seen a single car guard since landing in New Zealand, O WAIT, there are NO car guards in New Zealand! I’ve also not seen single burglar bar or safety door. For the first week we are living with a lovely South-African expat family who live in a lovely wood home which, defying South African ways of thinking lacks a burglar alarm system… O wait, you don’t need a burglar alarm in New Zealand. Awesome! Imagine seeing an Audi S4 parked and unattended with open windows… weird… We saw our employment agent today and went over some potential offers. Obviously this gave us an opportunity to explore downtown Auckland. Firstly, the place is CLEAN, really clean. I didn’t see a single paper on street and the train station is spotless. I mean really, what is a train station without some junk lying around, a few beggars demanding your clothes and distasteful graffiti painted on dilapidated train coaches… :o) It seems that I am proven wrong, it really is possible to keep a public place clean. Come visit Auckland and see for yourself! Auckland is known as the city of sails for a reason! Boats, boats everywhere! It’s fascinating how they have hundreds of private yachts and sailboats moored all over Auckland’s bays and harbors. Tomorrow we’ll organize our bank accounts, meet some more South African expats and see about job interviews. I’ll write again soon… O yes. One last thing, you know the massive tower in downtown Auckland? Yea, the 320 meter tall one with a glass observation deck. Tomorrow we are going to bungee-jump off it. 192 Meter free fall… Awesome … Please don’t tell my mom :o) Here are some pics to share the experience! Jhb Intl. Too little sleep? No! This is what happens when ET goes home… Brisbane New Zealand : West Coast