Jan
3
Christchurch, New Zealand
January 1, 2010
5:18pm NZ time?
I can cross New Zealand off of my travel list; we have arrived! It was brutal to get up this morning, take a shower, eat breakfast, and finish packing. Considering that I went to bed at 2am after posting my NYE experience, I had about 5 hours of shut-eye. Ouch. After checking out, I went to give Dan, our trusty concierge, my card so he could see photos of last night’s fireworks. He suggested that Joanne and I have our picture taken with him, so we did just that! Then, our shuttle ride to the airport didn’t show up and wasn’t answering when Dan tried to ring the company, so we had to hire a taxi. We arrived in the airport and blew right through check-in, customs, and boarding. Joanne is flying first class on this trip (she used a LOT of frequent flyer miles to do it), so I got to board ahead of everyone with her. 
It wasn’t until we were taking off from Sydney that I realized I was leaving Australia, not knowing when I would be back. It was a sad moment, but I have an unknown but future return trip to look forward to someday.
The flight to Christchurch was only 2.5 hours, but it was treated like a normal international trip with heaps (by the way, while Americans tend to use “tons” to describe a lot of something, Aussies really like “heaps”) of movies to watch on our personal screens (by the way, if you want a good cry and a fantastic movie, rent “The Reader“), lunch service, and complimentary wine (which I never asked for). What tickled me most is Air New Zealand’s safety info video. To use Aussie slang, it was very cheeky! The music was upbeat, the flight attendants and captains used to tell us all about safety informed us with smiles and giggles. They definitely had fun making the video rather than the very sobering and formal videos used on United, Delta, or the other U.S. carriers. Plus, while listening to our own attendants, I was able to pick up on the difference between Aussie and Kiwi accents. Kiwis tend to horizontally elongate their vowels, especially the E, more than Aussies. For example, the word “text” would sound pretty normal in Australia while here it sounds more like “teext.” Very unusual yet fun to the ear.
As we made our descent into the South Island, I peeked out the window and was excited to see snow-capped mountains reaching through the clouds. As more landscape became available, I could hear the “Lord of the Rings” soundtrack starting to play in my head. I can’t wait to see the grand views that await us. Upon arrival at the airport, we whisked through immigration and added another stamp to our passports. Our shuttle driver here did meet us, and took us to Camelot Hotel in the heart of the city. We have a fantastic corner room with great views of the cathedral right across the square. Although we’re two hours ahead of Sydney time, I think it’s about time to go hunt for some ork, I mean dinner.
No related posts.
What greeat pictures and narrative!