Our morning began like any other on New Zealand — a little rain, a little sun, and a stiff wind. We did some last minute tidying up of the Air BnB, which is what one logically has to do after having paid a $200 cleaning fee.
We then stopped at a petrol station and returned our rental car at the ferry dock. We had to kill a bit of time as we had done everything much quicker than expected. Soon enough, though, we found ourselves getting blasted with wind on our way back to Auckland. From the ferry dock in downtown Auckland, we took Ubers to the airport. It took about 25 minutes before we arrived, and the Air Tahiti Nui desk had only just opened for the check-in process.
As we were quite a bit early, we took our time in some shops and stocked up on some more Whittaker’s Chocolate and some World Cup items. And lastly, we bid adieu to the Chief Cookie Muncher himself, hawking his Cookie Time wares like only a monster drunk on cookies and meth can do. Cookie Time is a local New Zealand snack that is simply a prepackaged cookie. They are about as good as you would expect. Nevertheless, the packaging states that they are for serious cookie munchers only — something I identify with.
After grabbing a meat pie for lunch, we went to the boarding gate where Nicole and I were issued seats toward the back of the plane (but together). We settled in for the roughly four and a half hour flight to Tahiti. We were served either fish filet or lamb stew for dinner on the flight, which made it all the more concerning when Mr. Poopers announced that he had beef.
Customs and baggage collection went surprisingly smooth. I then acquired a rental car — a bright yellow Peugeot 208 which shockingly fit all of our bags (and us). We then rolled up to the Hilton Tahiti like a clown car — each of us tumbling out unceremoniously into the open-air lobby of the upscale hotel. Nicole, who is a Hilton Honors Diamond member, got both rooms upgraded to an ocean view.
I cannot, however, confirm an actual ocean view exists as it was quite dark upon our arrival. The weather forecast for tomorrow is a bit iffy, but South Pacific forecasts are also not to be trusted, so we shall take it as it comes. Either way, we will be enjoying a complimentary breakfast tomorrow morning thanks to Nicole’s Hilton Honors Diamond status. Bon Apetit, and Bonsoir.
passports & pepto bismol 