Day 3: Auckland: We Made It

The Auckland airport greeted us just before 6 a.m. on Monday. Because we crossed the International Date Line, our Sunday was just a couple of hours long in the middle of our flight. Both the passport control and biosecurity lines were long, but we cleared them within a couple of hours.

We splurged for a bigger rental car, knowing we were essentially living out of it these next few weeks. It was a good choice–we managed to fill nearly every inch of the trunk. I took the first driving shift, and driving on the left went quite well. The most confusing part is the turn signals being on the right stalk, so there were more than a few inadvertent windshield wiper activations on the 45 minute drive to the Sadlier house.

It was so wonderful to see George and Amanda again! It quickly felt like no time had passed. Amanda prepared homemade cinnamon rolls and a delicious fruit salad for our breakfast. With full bellies and somewhat sleepy eyes we had a quick one-hour rest and then rallied for the rest of the day. George greeted us with some local savory pies, with butter chicken being one of our favorites.

One of the best views in town is hiking to the top of Mt. Eden. We did the quick hike and took in the sights before heading back to meet the kids after school got out.

Zoe took a bit to warm up to us, as she was less than 2 years old when she last saw us, but the others took off like no time had passed. As a group we went to Karaka Bay Beach, where the boys found clay and loved sculpting it.

The kids ended the evening with Uno Flip, and we adults got to catch up over wine once the kids were in bed.