Feb. 26 - 28 - From Home to NZ

THE GREAT ESCAPE:  FROM STARKVEGAS TO CHRISTCHURCH

Feb. 26 - 28 -

The Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu supposedly said that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.  Perhaps back then in China it did; but sorry, Lao.  Now in America a journey half way around the world begins with getting two people to get all of their crap crammed into 2 small bags that don't weigh too much, putting them into a car, and getting to the airport on time.  Somehow we accomplished those feats.  We got away almost on time for the 150 minute drive to Birmingham, flight on Southwest on time to Dallas, then after a short layover, and a flight to LAX, which was also on time. All went well except that a nerdy young woman, who was fittingly the last one to board the plane, sat next to me and spent most of the DAL to LAX flight sneezing and coughing ... and of course, her mama hadn't taught the little tart to cover her mouth when she did either!  After several sighs, grating of my teeth, and muttering epithets under my breath, she finally figured it out and began covering her mouth.  Flu, anyone?!?

On international flights one has to retrieve his bags, then ride the shuttle over to the Tom Bradley International Terminal, recheck them with the international carrier, run the security gamut again, and drift off into a Tower of Babel of international passengers and airlines.  Although signage and information at LAX are scarce, we made it through the maze, found the security only mildly grumpy, and after dinner, waited to board Air New Zealand, our first time to ride that carrier.  They were outstanding!  Friendly, accommodating, and committed to making the ensuing almost 13 hr. flight as painless as possible.  Susan and I had paid extra for ANZ's "skycouch," which is essentially paying (though not dearly) for a 3rd seat between us ... and the seats recline some, have footrests that flip up like a recliner, and one receives a mattress pad, pillows, and blankets.  It's not quite long enough for a 6'2" guy to stretch out, but the fetal position worked fine.  Thanks to our wonderfully attentive steward, I actually was able to move to my own skycouch directly behind Susan's, which meant we didn't have to spend the entire flight "spooning" and taking turns snoring in each other's ear.  I slept a good 7 hours and Susan even more.  In short, the skycouch was worth every extra penny!  And, of course, as with all long flights, they fed us well, gave us wine, and had ample entertainment.  I watched The Darkest Hour, the movie about Churchill and WWII, which I had been planning to rent, and most of an episode of a NZ documentary called A Year in Antarctica, which were both excellent.  Also read some and listened to some jazz.

We landed a few minutes early in Auckland, NZ, the country's largest city, which is on the North Island.  The clouds obscured our view of the countryside as we approached.  The Auckland airport is unimpressive, but it gets the job done.  The customs and security people are businesslike but friendly.  Oh, to land in NZ -- also in Australia -- you must show proof that you have concrete plans to leave the country, which for us was a copy of our airline reservations to fly out to Australia in a few days.  They love for you to visit, spend money, and enjoy their beautiful country, but they don't want you  to stay.  (No huddled masses/wretched refuse/homeless tempest-tost for us, thanks!) 

Having had breakfast on the flight, I decided to have a light lunch at the airport between flights.  I ordered a beer, and they had to open the taps for me ... and I realized it was 9:00 AM there, not 11:00 as I had erroneously thought after resetting my watch.  Oops!  Breakfast beer anyone?  As with LAX the signage at AKL was somewhat baffling, but we found our way around ... and like at LAX, had to retrieve our bags from the international terminal, travel over to the domestic terminal, and clear security again.  We had roughly an hour to kill before boarding our flight from AKL to Christchurch.  It was an easy, roughly hour long flight, and we were on time.  Our Discover NZ travel agent passed her first test, as she had our shuttle driver ready and eager to take us to our hotel.  Wayne, the owner of Merivale Manor, greeted us warmly and helpfully.  We arrived about 1:30 PM and after much needed showers began to make plans for seeing some of Christchurch, having an early dinner, and getting some valued sleep!

We walked about 20 mins. to downtown Christchurch to the Botanic Gardens, which we had planned to take a hop on/off train through.  We just missed the last one, however, so we just strolled some more. It was truly beautiful ... the Avon River flowed through it, and the Gardens are adjacent to a magnificent old school.  It's very early fall here, so things are still blooming. 

Then we rode a tram/streetcar around the city.  Christchurch suffered a terrible earthquake in 2011, and they're still trying to dig out from under it.  Some of the old buildings, including gorgeous old churches, were damaged so badly that they're still trying to determine if it's better to repair or demolish and rebuild.  

 We walked back to Merivale, then followed Wayne's suggestion and walked about 5 mins. to the No. 4 Pub for a very nice dinner and big glass of wine.  Back to the room and some well earned night's sleep!  The fun begins in earnest tomorrow.