I was lucky enough to head out to the island last week, a bit of a change of scenery from the usual rostered day off - but it's not every day we get a new airline flying to Auckland.
READ MORE: Clarkson tells tourists to skip Waiheke
Crowds of people were gathered in the lone terminal, the mayor was there, the archdeacon was, TV3 was there - I got my 10 seconds of television fame - it was the place to be.
On Tuesday last week it wasn't hard to miss something going on at Nelson Airport. There were orange balloons, orange bags, mini orange jetplane lollies, orange t-shirts, orange signs, cake with orange icing...Jetstar had arrived.
Crowds of people were gathered in the lone terminal, the mayor was there, the archdeacon was, TV3 was there - I got my 10 seconds of television fame - it was the place to be.
People were even singing Edelweiss as we lined up to board the plane - I'm still questioning the relevance of that one - and off we went, albeit slightly delayed by the weather.
The slightly nervous flight attendant got us into New Zealand's very own sky-scrapered, bustling, over-price-propertied metropolis, with a muffin and a drink for those who had preordered.
An hour of traffic and $90 later I got to the hotel jumped on the bed and switched on the TV - but even Road Cops couldn't keep me from seeing a Christmas coloured Sky Tower.
Walking up Queen St and around the viaduct is always a highlight of Auckland. So many people and so much life in the evenings.
The next day I was out to Waiheke.
The sky was grey, the wind was up, and I braved sitting on the outside top of the ferry, alone, to watch the city get smaller and smaller. Slightly salty and very windswept I wandered around Waiheke, worked up a sticky sheen in the warmth and got lunch.
Even on an overcast Wednesday afternoon for just a couple of hours, Waiheke Island feels like a holiday. It's like a weekend in Golden Bay, but without half a dozen fresh fruit frozen yoghurts on the way. The sea, the tie-dye prints, the slow pace and chatty tourists.
And then with a look at my watch it was back to Auckland, the airport - this time in an Uber - and home to the prettiest landing the country has to offer (in my opinion).
With the number of flights Jetstar and other new airlines will be seeing into Nelson, I'm sure that opinion will start to become more widely shared.
The writer travelled courtesy of Jetstar.
- Stuff
ANNA BRADLEY-SMITH
Last updated 13:45, December 9 2015