First Few Days

1/3 Arrived in at Auckland around 4:45 am after a 12 hour flight. The flight actually wasn’t too bad slept on and off for about 6 hours, only occasionally woken up by something running into me, since I was on the aisle seat. We got dinner soon after we boarded in LAX and got breakfast about 2 hours before landing in Auckland. Both meals were surprisingly okay and had tons of stuff. The crew was so nice, coming around often offering water. Also, with the meal all drinks are free! They even came around with complimentary wines, coffee and tea! I started watching Surrogates at the beginning of the flight during dinner but as soon as my dinner was cleared I was passed out, so I didn’t get to finish the movie, which wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be. I enjoyed watching the flight channel, which tracks your plane during the flight and gives you all the details of flight like altitude, speed, direction, etc. Then I watched an episode of CSI and What About Ted, both good shows! I didn’t want to start another movie but Air New Zealand was so nice and kept the entertainment running until landing, so I probably could have. The we went through intense screening and customs because of their high biosecurity procedures. Dogs were sniffing all baggage in the baggage claim area to make sure we weren’t bringing in fruits, vegetables, soils, etc, to spoil New Zealand…. Then we had to X-ray all of our baggage before we were allowed to leave the airport! So crazy! I’ve never had to do that exiting an airport before but I guess New Zealand is very conscious about bringing in foreign things that might contaminate their environment.
We then boarded a bus with a tour guide and they took us around the city of Auckland, first making a stop at the top of Mount Eden, one of the several extinct volcanoes that makes up Auckland. The views were gorgeous!!! However, it was about 6 am in the morning, so that was kind of strange. We also went through downtown and stopped near the harbor to get out and take some pictures. Finally we headed to the Hotel but being not even 8 am we couldn’t check in so we all took our baggage to a conference room and then set out in the city! I went along with Rachel and Spencer and we first visited the Sky Tower and we went to both levels of observation decks, including the glass floors! We didn’t do the Sky Jump (sort of like bungee jumping but you’re attached to a harness and go down on guide wires so you don’t smash into the building) or the Sky Walk (you walk around an outside platform near the top that’s 1.6 meters wide!!! Of course you’re harnessed in! Maybe on the way back I’ll do one or the other. After that we ventured onto the shark bus which took us to the aquarium across town! It was awesome and we got to see lots of penguins and sharks! Then we went out on a pier across from it and took some amazing pics and chilled in the nice warm sun! Then we headed back to the SkyTower place, which also has a hotel and casino attached off the bottom, I think it’s called SkyCity? Anyway, we went into the casino for lunch, and we got carded!!! Wheeee but the age is 20, good thing my birthday was 2 weeks ago! The security guy jokingly complained to us about how every US state has a different ID style, I guess that makes his job a little harder trying to find the birthdays on all of them. Had some yummy breaded chicken and fries, but the ketchup (tomato sauce as they call it) is kinda funky tasting, but it’s not vinegary like in Europe, it’s almost like spicy with a very different taste, it’s still edible, just not preferred.
The whole gang (all 31 of us) ventured out to an Italian place for dinner, that was an experience!! Haha Afterwards, some of the people and I just went back to the hotel to eat some dessert snacks and watch some TV. NZ TV is horrible, they have the worst channels every, half in some Asian language. We did get to witness the finale of Australia’s Got Talent, so I guess that’s kind of cool.

1/4, oh wait, what’s up 1/3 again? Woke up around 6 to pack everything back up already to head back to Auckland airport at 7:30 in the rain! When we arrived there we sat and got some breakfast, this airport is smart and has some food and shops BEFORE security. We finally boarded around 10:50 and for whatever reason everyone’s seats are for the most part very split up. I had to sit next to a Danish couple, and the older man had the worst B.O. EVER. It was pretty nasty, and there were about 20 little kids under the age of 2, including newborns on the flight…… so you can imagine how that flight went. The airport in the Cooks Islands is hilarious, one baggage claim and you have to get off the plane on the tarmac! It was insanely hot, luckily I wore shorts and a tank on the plane, very smart move. Once we got out bags we loaded on to a super small touring bus and headed off to the resort. Immediately everyone went to their rooms and changed into bathing suits and we all headed to the water! It is absolutely breathtaking! Tropical fish swim right up to shore, ones of every color imaginable. We even got to see a bright blue starfish. The downside is that the bottom is all rocky and coraly in places so it’s not the nicest to stand on. The waves breaking far out are a brilliant blue color—nothing like I’ve ever seen before. Afterwards, we went to dinner together again (everyone) at the restaurant here at the hotel. The menu is actually pretty good! I was able to get a chicken club sandwich and fries and had delicious pineapple juice while the sun set in front of me on the beach. After dinner, somehow everyone ended up gathering in my hotel room for a little party before heading down to the bar. It was a little ridiculous but funny. We all tried to sit in a circle out on the patio again but with this many people it’s really hard, so everyone kind of split up. A bunch of us were pretty tired so we headed back up to our rooms, and I finally got a shower. Night!

1/4 Woke up around 7:45 this morning, then went to have continental breakfast down in the restaurant. Afterwards we had an introduction to the resort and island by Tiki Daniel, the activities coordinator here at the resort. He went over a bunch of different activities they have at the resort and other things offered around the island. A bunch of us are planning on doing a jungle jeep safari for Wednesday since tomorrow we have our whole day planned for us for the most part. Some people even ventured out today, but most of us stayed here. I went out onto the beach and took some pictures around the area then it was time for a little ukulele lesson here at the resort… I played some chords. Not too bad I have to say… hahaha. Got some snorkeling in—it was kind of a failed situation though. Last night and early this morning there was torrential downpours so it churned up the water a little bit—wasn’t as clear as when we got here yesterday and it was actually wavy, not calm. Also my mask kept getting water in it and I was worried about getting my contacts wet, so I ended up just chilling in the water for a bit which is lovely. As for the rain, it’s really random, comes and goes, usually just drizzles. A bunch of us decided to take a walk down the beach, got some more pictures in. Then I decided to actually start one of my journal entries, while laying on a chair on the beach next to a palm tree…. Oh yea. For dinner a bunch of us went to the Spaghetti House right here close to the resort. The pasta carbonara was delicious!!! Later when we returned to our rooms a bunch of us gathered in a room and played MadLibs for hours… needless to say it was absolutely hilarious. Lots of inside jokes have already been made. Then tonight was the first night I slept really good and didn’t wake up til the morning!

1/5 Today we went to Highland Paradise, a big area of land preserved by a Maori lady that her father had started this project on to protect and educate in their culture and history. It was absolutely gorgeous nestled into the mountain and jungle. We started off getting an overview of Maori history by the lady herself, then watched a DVD they put together, then we were taken on a walk up the mountain with a man all decked out in traditional wear. He was really funny and awesome and we got to learn and see some really cool things. And of course the views were incredible!!!!!! The only downside was they fed us lunch, a traditional Cook Island meal…. Not the greatest. Mostly really weird foods and fruits that don’t taste like fruit. Good thing the resort has good French fries! A bunch of people tried snorkeling again but it’s been raining on and off all day so again not the best viewing. Then I got attacked by millions of little black flies, freaked out, and ran to take a 30 min shower. Right now as I’m writing its downpouring again, sadly. The weather has been pretty nice but it’s pretty much been cloudy or overcast the whole time. Maybe we’ll get some sun tomorrow or Thursday! Then it’s off back to New Zealand. Not sure how good of an idea it was to do the island first… Not sure I want to leave!