NZ day 1, Arrived

We took two flights, an overnight from Singapore to Auckland, North Island, New Zealand and then a short flight from Auckland to Christchurch, South Island where we are staying for the duration of our trip. We had to walk a fair way with all our luggage at Auckland and it was pouring with rain. The idea of seeing nice views as we flew over was also dispelled as we couldn’t see a thing and the captain didn’t switch off the seatbelt sign. Our luggage was first off the domestic flight and our taxi driver was waiting for us. We went for a walk and by accident found the botanic gardens which hadn’t been hit by the Christchurch earthquake as far as we could see although we did see some buildings in the area under repair. We had a lovely meal in the Spanish restaurant next to the gardens. I rather liked this Acers tree and the redwood tree in extras.