After Queenstown, we had one more night in Auckland before we left for Sydney. After spending four nights at the Hilton-from-Hell-Auckland during our first trip, we knew we had to explore another option. We found a boutique hotel called Hotel DeBrett in the fashionable High Street area (not far from the Hilton-from-Hell-Auckland).

This reminded us of a very modern hallway that could be in The Shining.

The Living Room - loved the decor!

The bedroom

The bathroom - the circular tiles were funky and gave the room a cool feel. Too bad the shower leaked into the rest of the bathroom.

My two cents on boutique hotels is that they are great in theory but not great in reality. I guess I’m used to a certain level of service and amenities. And, the boutique hotels that I’ve stayed at always seem to miss the mark on something. Nevertheless, I’m glad that we got a chance to stay at the Hotel DeBrett for one night but I’m glad that it was only for one night.

Observations and Anecdotes about NZ

• The people we met were extremely friendly and outgoing
• Auckland and Queenstown are both very clean: both inside and outside. There are recycling bins everywhere and people actually use them. Every public bathroom I visited was clean. I didn’t experience a gross bathroom once.
• NZ is expensive! Even with the favorable exchange rate, things just cost more. For example, we had fish & chips at a restaurant and it cost $60 NZ ($50 USD). No drinks, no appetizers, no dessert. A 1-liter bottle of water cost $4 NZ. I hear that Sydney is even more expensive.
• They do not have a one-cent coin. So, if something is $5.27, you pay $5.30. Or, if something is $5.21, you pay $5.20. The cashier will round up or down accordingly.
• Tipping is not expected but we usually left a little tip each time. It just feels wrong to not tip.
• Like in the UK, the letter “Z” is pronounced “zed” not “zee” so when you say NZ, you pronounce it N-Zed. I like this.
• There are weight limits to your carry-on luggage on domestic flights on Jetstar and on the international flight on Qantas from AKL to SYD. They actually weighed our carry-on bags and we had to check our rolling bags. Did not expect that.
• In Queenstown, the only wildlife in the mountains are goats, possums, and rats. No harmful animals. Possums are such a nuisance that they kill them and use their fur like wool. You can buy possum fur clothing.
• In Auckland, a major metropolitan area, I never was asked for spare change. No panhandlers.
• In Queenstown, we saw people hitchhiking. I didn’t know people still did that. There are rapists and murderers everywhere (according to my mom, at least)

Other Funny Anecdotes Along the Way…

• In Madrid (I forgot to post about it then). After a long travel day from Buenos Aires to Madrid, I was very jet-lagged and exhausted. I had my boarding pass in my pocket as well as some money designated for the tip. I tipped the doorman who brought us our bags. After a long nap, I put my hand in my pocket and pulled out the money – the money that I was supposed to give to the doorman. Oops! I had accidentally tipped him my boarding pass. I saw him on our way to dinner and, after a good laugh, I gave him a proper tip. He gave me a special smile each time we saw him after that.
• On our way to Hong Kong, we had to pass through London Heathrow immigration due to our layover. When Chris and I reached the counter, I greeted the immigration officer. As we were walking away, Chris looked at me and asked, “Why did you speak in a British accent?” I denied it because I didn’t realize that I had spoken that way. Not sure what got into me!
• It’s completely natural for people to ask us where we are from. A couple of people don’t want to offend us by asking if we are American. So, we’ve been asked “Are you Canadian?” and “I hear a North American accent there. Where are you from?” I find this amusing – people think that being called American is offensive. Who can blame them?
• When we are asked, we always say “Oklahoma. In America.” We add the “in America” because we aren’t sure if people know about Oklahoma. Well, we were wrong. EVERYONE knows Oklahoma. One gentleman from Coromandel, NZ said that he learned all the songs from Oklahoma! in school. Another woman from Auckland told Chris “We learn all about Oklahoma from the television.” And, our cab driver in Queenstown told us that he just watched a t.v. show about the land run. It was neat to know that our little ol’ state is know around the world and people are actually interested.

-kb