Carrie and I didn’t have definite plans when we landed in Auckland. The reason we even ended up being in Auckland was because of the great airfare/hotel deal offered by Air Tahiti Nui.

We simply didn’t plan to take our return flight and planned to take full advantage of our 3-month tourist visa here in New Zealand.

The plan was loosely (meaning at some point) to go to Christchurch (South Island of New Zealand), and get an apartment. Christchurch is where my friend Nicole lives.

4 days ago, we had no plans other than 2 nights hotel stay at the Auckland City Hotel and to explore Auckland, and travel the north island first before heading to the south island.

2 days ago, (in order to accomplish this), we planned to rent a camper and spend 2 weeks driving the north Island.

But:

• The companies with the campers were 2-3 days out on having rentals available.
• Carrie and I are also feeling a bit overwhelmed at this point (after LOTS of flights and lots of travel).
• It will also be colder in the South, the further we get into June/July (which is winter here).
• Also, most tourists to New Zealand go from north to south, so from time to time there are deals where you can help the companies out and drive cars from south to north. In exchange, you can rent the car for free or very cheap
• Flying to Christchurch from Auckland, there are last minute fares for under $70/ticket.

All of these things combined, we decided that it would be best to head to Christchurch straightaway and get our apartment.

This will allow us to get set up for a little while here in New Zealand, see what the country has to offer, and also be a little more settled.

We still plan to tour the north island in a camper, but we’ll likely do that at the end of June, or even sometime in July.

In the meantime, we’re spending the next day exploring Auckland, then heading to Christchurch where we will visit with Nicole and Matt for a week or two while finding an apartment.

We’re really looking forward to being settled in our own place again, getting out of our suitcases and backpacks, and spending time with our friends Nicole and Matt and their son Caden.