Day 2 – Los Angeles to Auckland

As I write this, we’re about two hours from our arrival in Auckland.

The long haul flight from Los Angeles to Auckland was comfortable.  The service with Air New Zealand is excellent, the meals were wonderful and the seats spacious.  There is simply no comparison to Air Canada.  I highly recommend Air NZ to anyone who may have them as an option for an upcoming trip.

We were able to relax in the lounge (pictured below) and have a refreshing shower and a meal before the cabin crew greeted us and personally escorted us to our departure gate.

P4050174

Here we are getting ready for take-off.  The seats were very comfortable and allowed us to stretch out and get a good night’s sleep on the plane.

P4050178

From the champagne and orange juice upon boarding, to the six course dinner and five course breakfast served, we certainly did not arrive hungry.  The wide selection of complimentary New Zealand wines on board was a fantastic way to sample some of the local wines.

We made a brief stop in Rarotonga (Cook Islands) along the way, where we had to step off the plane for about 60 minutes while they refuelled.  The sun was up when we resumed the flight, and it’s obviously a very beautiful place.  However, I didn’t want to risk any more pictures.  It was so hot and humid that my camera lens was fogging on the first photo shown below!

P4050182

Itinerary Overview

Planned Itinerary

Date Description
April 4 Fly Toronto to Los Angeles, connect with overnight flight to New Zealand
April 5 In transit to New Zealand
April 6 Arrive Auckland early morning
April 7 Explore Auckland
April 8 Drive to Rotorua in morning
April 9 Explore Rotorua in morning, fly to Dunedin in afternoon
April 10 Explore Dunedin and Otago Peninsula
April 11 Drive to Te Anau
April 12 Cruise on Milford Sound, return to Te Anau
April 13 Drive to Queenstown
April 14 Explore Queenstown
April 15 Drive to Wanaka
April 16 Drive to Franz Josef
April 17 Explore Franz Josef glacier
April 18 Drive to Christchurch via Arthur’s Pass
April 19 Explore Christchurch
April 20 Drive to Blenheim
April 21 Drive to Picton, ferry to Wellington on North Island
April 22 Explore Wellington
April 23 Fly to Australia in afternoon
April 24 Explore Sydney
April 25 Fly to Hamilton Island
April 26 Explore Hamilton Island
April 27 Explore Hamilton Island
April 28 Fly to Sydney in afternoon
April 29 Explore Sydney
April 30 Fly to San Francisco
May 1 Fly to Toronto

New Zealand Travel Plan