In this part of the world nothing is close. Therefore no one thinks twice about going over to New Zealand from Sydney, a flight of just under three hours. So we decided to go visit the Hancock family. There are at least a dozen flights per day to choose from, and many different airlines. Among them Emirates, who have clearly chosen Auckland as a hub instead of Sydney. When we came back there were three Emirates Airbus 380 leaving for Dubai within the same hour, all of them passing different cities in Australia.
New Zealand is as pleasant as ever. People are open, friendly, nice, the landscape beutiful, green and lush. And, this time of the year, full of flowers everywhere. Auckland is south of Sydney, the climate colder, and flowers like it. My favourite agapanthus blooms everywhere.
We went to Waiheke, picked our own cockles (you are allowed to pick 50 each, not one more! Heavy fines apply) had the most delicious spaghetti alle vongole – and starters and salad and dessert – all accompanied by excellent wine from the winery we were visiting. The conversation was also extremely interesting.
The planned new flag for New Zealand got thumbs down from everyone we asked. Beachtowels, was one verdict about the designs. And everyone predicted the old one will stay. Here’s an old flag for New Zealand, preceding the one now in use:
This flag was designed by rhe Maori people. Why not use it?
O S M A F Frankenhaeuser 