Back to the Antipodes

Ted. In the autumn of 2021, Judy and I booked a cruise for the Spring of 2023 that sounded fantastic; Brisbane, Australia to Honolulu, Hawaii, USA with a stop in French Polynesia. We had wanted to return to New Zealand and Australia ever since our first visit in 2017 and this gave us an excuse to plan more adventures way down south. 

Both countries are vast and we wanted to focus on parts that we had not seen before. Our target in New Zealand would be the north part of the South Island and we would visit three Australia states for the first time; South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland. 

On January 30th we flew from Atlanta to Honolulu, Hawaii for an overnight stay and dinner at my favorite Japanese noodle shop.

Beef bowl at Marukame Udon

The next morning we boarded an Air New Zealand flight (our favorite airline) to Auckland, New Zealand. We had originally thought we would just hop from there to Nelson but we decided to change our plans after speaking with our Swedish Servas friend, Mikaela. When she learned of our travel plans she said, “You know, I think my parents will be there around the same time.” As we had all enjoyed a wonderful time when we visited Sweden in 2021, we knew a rendezvous was in our future. That is why we ended up spending the past five days in Auckland. 

Björn, Malou, Judy and I were the guests of a wonderful Servas couple named Greg and Shayne. 

Judy, Shayne & Malou

Our stay was jam packed with adventures as we all explored the region north of Auckland called, appropriately enough the Northland. 

Goat Island

Björn & Malou back in their 2nd favorite country

We visited great towns, saw museums, lovely bays and countryside, ate terrific food and drank marvelous New Zealand wine. We even reconnected with Bruce and Sue, with whom we had stayed on our first trip to Auckland.

Greg & Shayne at Goat Island Marine Centre

At Hundertwasser Museum

On our road trips we took turns accompanying Greg in his sweet ride while the rest of us attempted to keep up in Shayne’s SUV. 

Judy and Greg's McLaren GT

Our last day was spent at the apartment they own at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park to watch the New Zealand Grand Prix. 

It was a bittersweet moment when Shayne dropped us off at the airport on Monday for our flight to Nelson. Not surprisingly, as soon as we unpacked our bags, we were off for dinner in the home of Cate and Sally, two good friends of Greg and Shayne. After a good night’s sleep, we will now begin our three weeks exploring a new region. We can't wait to see what else New Zealand has in store for us!

Robin, Paul, Cate & Sally