After our 10.5hr overnight flight from Tokyo, we landed around breakfast time in Auckland, minus much in the way of sleep. Whilst the flight food, drink and movie options were all good, the room to get comfortable and sleep wasn’t all that.

We decided that the best course of action was to push on through, particularly as our 3 night stay in an Airbnb didn’t provide for a check-in until 3pm.

After flying through customs and picking up our bags, we secured a shared minibus into central Auckland and arrived at our new ‘home’ just before midday. Sadly it was still being cleaned, so we searched out a coffee bar nearby and tucked into a coffee & cake followed by a pizza for lunch. In between times we successfully booked concert tickets for Coldplay who are doing 2 nights in Auckland and we are going to see them tomorrow….. can’t bloody believe it, we are so excited to see them, especially overseas and for less money than we would have paid back in London!

Having managed to get a slightly earlier bag drop at 2pm, we headed out in the sunshine and went down to Auckland Waterfront (Viaduct harbour), where it was buzzing in the mid afternoon sun with people out enjoying the lively atmosphere.

After being in Asia for the last 8mths, returning to an environment where you understand the language, recognise the food (and have tried it before), and the noise level was so elevated, all felt unusual and unfamiliar.

Auckland looked especially pretty and inviting in the sunshine and we walked along to witness up close the boats in all their shapes and sizes.

After time on the waterfront we went in search of some greenery and meandered through the streets before eventually landing at the corner of Prince Albert Park. What a great park and such a beautiful place to hole up.

Like Japan, Auckland is starting to embrace the Xmas run-in, although its decorations aren’t on the same impressive scale…..

Albert Park had the familiar hallmarks of a British park, with monuments to Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, as well as an array of coloured plants, as Spring turns to early Summer.

Leaving the park, we dropped off at a nearby Woolworths for supplies before visiting Victoria Park and passing the Victorian styled Auckland Ferry Building.

On our way back up to the Airbnb we walked past the amusing sign board with the word ‘whatever’ plastered across the roof. With just 2hrs of sleep under our belts it was always going to be an early night as the fatigue and tiredness started to fully kick in.

Tomorrow we are off on a walking tour of the city at 10am, before having a few hours to explore the city and it’s culture, before we head to Eden Park to watch Coldplay concert starting at 6pm.