An uneventful flight from the Gold Coast to Auckland after friend Catherine dropped us off at the airport nice and early for our midday flight. Well, the flight was uneventful the boarding part not so much. Going through security my wallet disappeared from the tote tray. Caused a bit of concern until it turned up on the side of the conveyor belt. Must remember to put the wallet inside the carry-on bag in future. And that's not all!! Jill forgot she had a small pair of scissors in her pencil case. They of course were confiscated. Since we were there last, they've built a new international section for the terminal. A bit of a "rabbit warren" to negotiate but a fairly straightforward exercise through immigration etc that one has to suffer these days.
A nice cup of coffee while we waited for our flight but no gluten-free pastries etc.
On arrival at Auckland, we headed for the One desk to get a New Zealand sim card for Alex's phone. A pretty simple task these days as you just add an E-sim, which means you don't even have to take the Australian sim out of the phone.
Accommodation tonight is at the Pullman Hotel which is only a short walk from the terminal. Lots of building happening at the airport and the Pullman is quite new. Our room is near the top of the building and looks out over the airport. Amazingly we couldn't hear a sound - obviously well insulated as well as the double glazing. Dinner at the hotel tonight was fine and then a good night's sleep ready for the drive to Paihia in the Bay of Island tomorrow.
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