Today was an early morning start in Melbourne and drive to drop off the rental car. Final tally on blinker/wiper mixup was 8 (sigh). Better luck next! Anyway, despite how close Australia and New Zealand sound, it is apparently more than a 3 hour flight. And for us, it was an uneventful 3 hours, just how we like it. Customs in NZ is pretty strict on anything that could come and introduce any foreign biological materials. So, no fresh fruit, animal products, seeds, etc. etc. And for us, that meant that the apple and pear Bridget was hoping to bring in for a snack had to be tossed (at least we declared it and told the customs agent - if the scanner caught it we would have had to pay a $400 fine!). Once we cleared all of that, we were picked up by some friends of ours and then settled into our AirBnB for the night.
Day 5 - Goat Island
After taking it easy in the morning, we drove out to Goat Island for some snorkeling and beach time. Despite the name, I don't think there are any goats on Goat Island, but there are some nice rocky areas and kelp forests to explore! I got to put my new GoPro to use, although apparently it doesn't actually turn you into a professional photographer...bummer. I did my best though (see below). The water was on the cooler side of things (~70F), but definitely doable for a couple of hours in the water, especially with wetsuits. We've done some snorkeling with more fish around, but it was still pretty cool.
Great way to start an early morning!
Apparently this is a crumpet (and you're supposed to put jam on it)
Goat Island
Everyone at the beach!
Bridget and our friend's little girl
Ready to get in!
This big guy was following me
How many fish can you spot? (hint - there are more than zero)
View along and beyond the beach
Sunset over Auckland
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