Matchmaking Flight: Who went? Why? Having a ball. Eat, play, love, New Zealand

Oysters, food of love, in abundance at the Matchmaking Ball (above & below.)

Be sure to see the slideshow at the end of this story.

Who went?
Jason Mesnick from ABC’s The Bachelor and Molly Malaney, his girlfriend, were the Matchmaking Flight’s invited celebrity stars. (They connected, on the TV show, in New Zealand.) Plus 100 singles from the U.S. and Canada. Plus in Auckland, 130 Kiwi singles were waiting.

There were as many stories as there were singles. Here, in brief, are five.

Carrie Niggli from Boston and Colette Lesch from San Francisco. Lesch said she had been to a ball in Monte Carlo each year for the past five. “My mother sent me a clipping about the Matchmaking Flight and the New Zealand ball. She wrote: ‘Monte Carlo — or ball in New Zealand? An adventure, and a match as a bonus.’”

Niggli and Lesch, friends for 10 years, flew together. Niggli turned 40 the night of the flight. She was planning to keep it low profile, but Lesch smuggled 40 cupcakes aboard to share with fellow flyers and to surprise her friend.

“It would be great to meet someone,” both agreed. “But if not, we’re having a fabulous time. It’s a great adventure.”

Dan DeLahunt, Southern California. In the hotel business. Single (never married).

“My brother told me about the flight and it seemed a good idea. I’m single and finding someone is long overdue,” he said at a pre-ball cocktail party, held at Twentyone, a glitzy bar at SkyCity in downtown Auckland.

(SkyCity has a Sky Tower where you can do a Sky Walk. This involves walking around a narrow metal pergola 192 meters in the air. You get 360 degree views of Auckland. You don’t get the full view effect if it’s raining and windy, although I can vouch that doing the sky walk in the rain and the wind is a great post-flight jet lag cure. See a picture in the slideshow, below.)

DeLahunt signed up with the Matchmaking Flight website in July. “Six of us met through the site and planned our trip together. Four women and two men. We’ve all become good friends,” he said. If he fell for a New Zealander, would he move to New Zealand?

“It depends. I’d rather have her move to California but if and when it happens would be the time to decide.”

[The Sky Tower also has a revolving restaurant, aptly called Orbit Restaurant. Besides getting a stunning 360 degree view of Auckland without having to do a sky walk, the restaurant offers New Zealand delights such as green lipped mussels and New Zealand lamb — see slideshow for pics — and among the desserts, Pavlova and a specialty ice cream, Hokey Pokey.]

Trent Mueller, a web designer from California, was planning a tour of Australia when he read about the Matchmaking Flight and decided to add it to his itinerary. “I’m not opposed to meeting someone,” he said.

Ian Yeoman, a member of the New Zealand contingent. A Scotsman, he wore a kilt to the ball. He is also a tourism professor at Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). His intention? "To find a wife."

Karl Schumacher, Scottsdale Arizona. Former Time Life and White House photographer who served with the Nixon, Ford, Carter and Reagan administrations. Single (divorced) and open to meeting someone, if it happened.

Why a Matchmaking Flight?

“We thought it would be interesting to see whether opposites attract in a geographic sense," said Air New Zealand's Sarah Miller Reeves.

"Bringing together two cultures from two sides of the globe offered a chance to create some real chemistry. And New Zealand is an incredibly romantic destination. If you ask me, the ideal environment in which to find The One.”

The Ball:
Planned as the ultimate South Pacific coupling experience, the Matchmaking Ball kicked off with the SkyCity cocktail pre-party. At 7:30 p.m. guests moved on to the official bash at The Wharf on Northcote Point. The after party was back at SkyCity.

See previous Matchmaking Ball stories:
What is it?
The LAX preflight party. (With video and slideshow)
Jason and Molly’s dating tips (video) and Worst Date video.