Auckland - first week-1

It's been officially one week today since my plane landed in Auckland.

The flight from Hong Kong was pretty much a disaster. My body reacted very well to the first 12 hours Milan-Hong Kong, however, in China it said "enough". I was flying the same company Cathay Pacific, but the plane was less comfortable and chairs simply wouldn't move. Believe me, it's very important when you have to sit for 12 hours straight! Fortunately, my sleeping pills were there for me.

A while ago I was recommended to take Melaksen sleeping pills with me to NZ. International English name is melatonin. I bought a 24 pills pack for about 10 euros in Russia without prescription. It's a kind of sleeping pills that regulate your body temperature and certain hormones, are very effective against jet lag as well as a few sleeping problems. It doesn't cause addiction. I personally didn't experience any side effects and have only positive experience, but you should talk to your local pharmacist or doctor, of course.

We arrived to Auckland at 7.30 am local time. Unfortunately, I was not sitting next to the window and couldn't enjoy the whole beauty outside, but it was clear we were approaching an island, and not such a big one!
The night before our crew has distributed forms to fill in for customs.
This is how arrival cards look like: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/enter/personal/passenger-arrival-card/english.pdf and everybody coming to NZ have to fill them in.

I heard too many stories about people bringing restricted items by mistake and signed to pay huge fines, i felt very stressed about it. I started to think what if I have bird feathers on my earrings or wood, well, in the end I basically marked all fields with restricted items, just in case :)
It's not a joke, I highly recommend to look at biosecurity web site before packing and check yourself all the time. You will pay 200-400NZD fine for bring an apple in, for example.
Sports shoes used outside in the forest are not allowed to bring without special cleaning and you might have to pay for it at the customs.
More info here: http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/enter/declare

First thing we did when the plane landed was receiving our luggage, and it took about 15 minutes. Then again I was one of the first to leave the plane, couldn't stand it anymore!
When the bag was collected I proceeded to the security check where I showed my passport and the arrival card. I was expecting to hear "welcome to New Zealand" or something, but the officer woman was too serious, just asked if it was my first time to the country. In contrast I was smiling like an idiot non stop. Oh my God, it's real, it's real.

Actually now I can't remember if it was collecting of bags first and then customs or vise versa, but there are many officers hanging out around. You won't be lost for sure.

Finally, me and all my bags (I had 32 kg huge bag, 10 kg hand luggage and a small hand bag) arrived to the security check for luggage. There was a small line and two officers almost had a fight where I should go. Men :D They checked my arrival card and asked about restricted items. I explained that I bring shoes but they were not used in the forest or for running outside, that I have a jar of jam and some medicine, but it was sold to me without prescription. Very easy!
After that I went to X-ray and a huge strong woman threw my heavy bags on the line as if they were a joke :) I was asked just one question, what was in the jar. I said it was a Finnish jam. They asked if I was sure it was not honey. I was :) they let me go and I asked if it was all, very surprised. Officers smiled and we all laughed.

New Zealand started perfectly.