From The Pearl Of The Orient To The City Of Sails

Our flight from Hong Kong to Auckland was in the early evening so we decided to make the most of our last few hours and explore a bit more. We had spent the previous night at the Cosmo Hotel in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island so after an early breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and left our luggage with the concierge. The Cosmo is very close to plenty of shops and bars and the Happy Valley racecourse. As I was so close, I decided to check out another popular hotel we use the Metropark Causeway Bay which was about 25 minutes walk away. I love walking as you can come across some real gems such as the beautiful temple we found en route but Hong Kong has a very good metro system if not.

The Metropark has a wonderful rooftop pool with amazing views over the harbour so worth staying there for that alone.

All too soon, it was time to head back to the Cosmo and take the shuttle to the airport for our flight to Brisbane then on to Auckland.

After travelling over 11,000 miles from home, the strangest part about arriving in New Zealand for the first time was how familiar everything looked. Our very pleasant transfer with a lovely friendly local man took us to the beautiful Heritage Hotel in the heart of Auckland. Our lovely room on the 6th floor looked over an interior courtyard and have every amenity. After a quick freshen up, we headed off for a short walk to the famous Sky Tower and straight up to the 60th floor for the amazing views and a stunning sunset over Auckland.

After, we headed back down and to Princes Pier, right next to the cruise terminal, for dinner then back to the Heritage and a very welcome and very comfortable bed.

After a lovely breakfast the next day in the Palm Court, we transferred over the road to Rydges Hotel for the next 2 nights.  The change was merely to try both popular hotels. We had a beautiful room again with a dual aspect of the harbour and the Sky Tower. Another day exploring and then an early night as an early start in the morning……..