The day that Wasn't
We crossed the international date line sometime last night on our flight. The flight from LAX was only about 13 hours. We left late at night on the 26th but we arrived in Auckland the morning of the 28th. December 27th didn't happen for me this year or at least it was reduced to a couple of hours on the plane ride before the date switched to the 28th.
Avoiding Introduced Species
We arrived in Auckland and had to go through customs. New Zealand, like most islands, has had to deal with introduced species causing problems with native species and with agricultural crops. At customs in New Zealand, just like in many countries, we were required to report any food items we were carrying so that potential hitchhiking agricultural pests could be prevented from entering the country. They also inspected any outdoor equipment we were carrying. For me that meant a thorough inspection of my hiking boots and my tent. They want to try and prevent any possible sources for weed seeds from entering the country.
Middle Earth
After passing through customs we were greeted by a giant statue of a dwarf. The tourism industry has really capitalized on the popularity of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.
This dwarf statue welcomes visitors at the Auckland International Airport.
Food and Sleep
After a 2.5 hour layover in Auckland we caught a flight to Christchurch. After getting checked into our hotel we went out to eat and stopped by a couple of stores so some of our team members could buy things they forgot to pack. Then it was back to the hotel to catch up on some needed sleep.