New Zealand was amazing. We want to go back. You should go. Its beautiful, laid-back, and full of good food and wine. It is also worth noting that its a very affordable place to visit and the dollar is even worth something.
Getting to New Zealand.
No getting around the fact that this is far way. It was about 14 hours to Brisbane and then a nine hour layover and then another 3 hour flight to Auckland. If you go I suggest bringing the sportsguy's basketball book. Its really good and really long. Perfect.
Brisbane
We had a bit of time here, so we decided to venture out into the city and are glad we did. Taking the train from the airport to the city was very reasonable and easy. We hadn't done a lot of planning for this and opted for just heading to the city center and checking out the main shopping district. As will become obvious about us and this trip, we vacation with our stomach.
A few of the highlights include
Our first clue that bacon was really important down under
Not the only instance of chicken being used as a condiment that we saw
The best thing about Brisbane was this thing called a bay bug. Imagine if lobsters were only the tails.
Auckland
After some much needed sleep, we got up and wandered around until we found a cafe for breakfast.
As you can see I won again
After breakfast we headed to the zoo to prove that we were here to do more than eat
This is a tuatara. It only lives in New Zealand and there are only two species like it. Its only other relatives were dinosaurs and they died over 200 million years ago.
After the zoo we headed for an early dinner around the harbor area. We settled on Kermadec Seafood Brasserie. The place was beautiful with a nice view of the water. Some of the best oysters I've ever had.
Our main course was also awesome. Oven Roasted Hapuku. With fennel, clams, mussels and prawns, fresh lemon thyme and pan juices.
Mount Manguanui Beach
This is a really beautiful place surrounded by the ocean. Unfortunately it was raining for our time here. Luckily the main street kept us busy with a nice assortment of shops, restaurants, and bars. Most importantly this was our first introduction to the New Zealand Platter at Latitude 37. Every bar has its own version but basically think cheese plate on steroids. Plenty of meat, smoked salmon, mussels, and on and on. The perfect compliment to a few glasses of wine or beer. It was at this point that I knew I was falling in love with this place.
As you can see it was no match for us.
Every place we walked into seemed to take real pride in making great food. This coffee shop was no exception.
A bacon and feta muffin. How did I not think of that?
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