A Two Night Stand in New Zealand - Part IV - Omitted Scenes

After my afternoon with the girls at the Auckland Museum, I decided to give Dave a call. He suggested that we have dinner together and my only request was that dinner include oysters - aphrodisiac comments need not apply. Dave picked me up in front of my hotel and we walked to a nearby seafood restaurant. As the name suggests, the Harborside Seafood Bar & Grill overlooked the harbor and was gorgeous with an elegant yet casual air that only a New Zealander could truly master. Our conversation that had started as soon as he and I greeted each other in front of the hotel was one of pleasant surprises and discovery. Unbeknownst to us, we shared some of the same passions, including Ironman distance triathlons. After the servers had checked on us more then a couple of times, we realized we had not taken the time to look at the menu, and so we finally ordered appetizers: oysters. I chose glasses of a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc to accompany them and the conversation continued. Long after the oysters were done and the waitstaff had all but given up on our ordering anything further, we decided to split some more appetizers. This time we selected the Pumpkin Rotolo, crumbed and pan-fried with pumpkin, pistachio, sage and cumin, carrot ginger puree, spring vegetables, and accompanied our food with another glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Dinner lasted 3 hours and although we both were understandably a bit jet-lagged there was no lag in our conversation. Having fought off sleep long enough, Dave walked me back to my hotel and we made plans to see each other the next morning.

Being a morning person and wanting to optimize my time in New Zealand, I told Dave to call me as soon as he woke up. No more then 8 minutes after I my eyes popped open at 6:30 AM, the phone rang and it was Dave. He asked if he should come fetch me and I mentioned that I wanted to go for a run. “No worries,” he exclaimed, “we’ll go for a run together, perhaps out in the country or something. I’ll see you in 30 minutes.” Thirty minutes later he picked me up and we drove over the Harbor Bridge to Northcote. Noting that neither of us had had any breakfast and that we probably should eat before attempting to run, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some breakfast and lunch and hopped aboard Dave’s sailboat to head out to Rangitoto, the most recently active volcano in the Auckland area (recent being over 600 years ago).  Clik here for video.

We ate breakfast as we chatted and made our way to the island. Once we arrived, we hopped in the dinghy and paddled our way ashore. We ran about halfway up the mountain until jet lag caught up with us. Hiking up the rest of the way, the easy conversation continued. The view from the top was breathtaking; we took some photos and enjoyed the view before jogging back down. Once on the boat we ate lunch, enjoying the view, and then headed into downtown Auckland where he dropped me off for my bridge walk.

That evening was the Matchmaking Ball. Dave was already at the venue when I arrived and we caught one another’s eye from across the room. Soon we were introducing one another to our friends, mingling with other singles (it was a singles event after all) and having a good time both on and off the dance floor with and without each other. Eventually, our mingling stopped and we enjoyed some Champagne until it was switched to the sweet cheap kind (it happens) at which point we switched to wine. Soon the flight crew decided that being on the last bus at a singles affair might be a bit depressing, and so we all headed out to a bar for one last beverage and our good nights.

The following day I spent the morning with Stuart, my friend who had driven up to see me. We called Dave for advice on places to find sheep (video here) and finally where to meet up so that Dave could drive me to the airport for my flight home. We shared some food and drinks at a restaurant nearby the airport and spent our last hour together watching planes land at the airport and making plans for our next meeting. When it was time, Dave drove me to the airport. We had a little bit of time and so he showed me the Air New Zealand offices and finally walked me to security where we said our good-byes.

And so the international dating begins! For those of you who know me, it should come as no surprise that I somehow managed to finally find someone - who happens to live over 6,500 miles from me in the other hemisphere. I’ve never done things the easy way. I have always believed most things worthwhile never come easy, though I guess you could argue I did find the person with the easiest profession to date long distance. My apologies to Air New Zealand for finding the one person with whom a cross-continental relationship with will not be adding to their bottom line, but somehow I don’t think they’ll mind.

Since returning from New Zealand, Dave and I have used modern technology to keep in touch on a daily basis and are planning to see each other again soon, most likely in another international destination. To answer Air New Zealand’s question, yes, opposites do attract.

Special thanks to Air New Zealand and whoever there was responsible for having Dave on that flight, to The Lek for giving me the opportunity to go on this fantastic journey and meet Dave 30,000 feet above the Pacific, and last (but certainly not least) to Dave for waiting for me at immigration!

Read:

Part I

Part II

Part III