First Impressions from the South Pacific

For several years, I toyed with the idea of returning to Australia and also discovering Fiji in the South Pacific. My first exposure to Australia was a holiday trip in the late 1980’s, and I made a couple business trips in the early 2000’s. I enjoyed each visit, but remember the jetlag was overwhelming, even though I was then an experienced flyer who usually travelled more than 100,000 air miles per year.

So, New Zealand never became a “must-see” location. That changed this year when our granddaughter Sydney decided to continue her university studies in Auckland. Her mother invited me to accompany Syd to New Zealand, which provided the perfect motivation to set aside concerns about jet lag and distance. Of course, the flight here was brutal. With a short, planned stay in Vancouver, and multiple airline delays and flight changes, I experienced two days with more than 21 hours without any sleep at all, within a 5-day window.

With that nasty stuff in the past, I’ve been able to explore New Zealand and now kick myself for waiting so long. As my first week here concludes, I can honestly say that Auckland is one of the finest places I’ve ever been after visiting more than 650 cities and 60 countries around the globe.

It’s New Zealand’s largest city, with about 1.8 million residents, accounting for about 35% of the country’s total population of 5.3 million. It’s one of the greenest cities I’ve visited, with massive old trees preserved, even in the core of the downtown. The city grew up in an area that experienced more than fifty volcanic eruptions over centuries—leaving many hills, some steep, others long, and all of them great to improve one’s fitness!

Auckland is one of the most multicultural cities on Earth, with more than 200,000 of the island’s Polynesian peoples making the city home. I find the respect and visibility for indigenous peoples exceptional. A melting pot of cultures, with strong Māori heritage and Polynesian influences, people everywhere seem friendly, open and welcoming.

New Zealand is a wealthy country and ranks among the top 5 globally, with a per capita net worth of more than $600,000 (US). Yet prices seem reasonable for visitors, and jobs in the services industries pay well enough that tipping is not part of the culture.

Now, before you begin to wonder if I’m recovering the cost of my trip by becoming an Auckland tourist bureau writer, let me assure you that I share these impressions with you only to remind you that I’m posting photos to my Facebook Author page almost every day.

Follow me here ( https://www.facebook.com/gary.d.mcgugan.books), and you can also share some of the beautiful scenery and mystique of Auckland, then Christchurch, then Nadi, Fiji, and Perth, Australia a few weeks later. I assure you, it will be a warm diversion from brutal winter weather!