Flight into Auckland (AKL)
It’s nearly 8,000 miles from Houston (IAH) to Auckland, and although the scheduled flight time is 14 hours 35 minutes, your flight time will vary… In my case we routed a lot further north than planned almost over flying Los Angles, which made our flight time closer to 15 hours.
Air New Zealand did an awesome job getting me and hundreds of others to Auckland. NZ29 had a professional crew attending to the flight, making it safe and pleasurable. One flight attendant in particular was a joy to chat with in “her” galley, a welcome relief from the standard sized economy seat that my body had to conform too :-). Joanna talked about Auckland and wonderful places to see in New Zealand – the flight attendants can be a great source of local knowledge, and other locations that they have experienced on their own vacations.
The Boeing 777ER (extended range) aircraft was an older vintage that was apparent from the interior layout and appearance. Everything was in good condition and the entertainment system was adequate but clearly a generation or two behind the latest gear the newer aircraft have installed. I was glad that I had downloaded a bunch of TV Series to binge watch on my iPAD, audio through my BOSE headset made the noisy cabin and crying baby fade into the background. There was no Bluetooth connectivity to the entertainment system, just the old wired interface to almost unusable earbuds (kept falling out of my ears).
On arrival into AKL airport, first you clear immigration and that took about 15 seconds! They are using the ePassport scanning system so you can self-serve. Next, you collect your checked baggage then proceed to the customs & biohazard screening queues. They are serious about travelers bringing in biohazards to their environment in the form of camping gear, sports equipment, food products, etc. They advise you to declare if you are unsure about anything in your bags or on your person, otherwise you can be fined NZ$400. I declared my gravel bike (sports equipment) and my hiking boots. After answering a few questions about those items they instructed me to bypass the screening area – where I suppose they have you unpack your bags for a detailed inspection.
There was another traveler in front of me walking out through the nothing to declare path and everyone was still subject to the sniffer dog which was bad news for her as the dog signaled something in her shoulder bag. Not sure what happened to her next but assume she was subject to more questions and possible confiscation of the food items in her bag.
Since I was making a connection to Christchurch I had to go to the Flight Transfers area, which is next to the Air New Zealand checkin desks for International flights. There I picked up my updated boarding pass and then made the 15 minute walk outdoors to the Domestic Terminal. From touch down to boarding time for my next flight I had about 2 hours, and I arrived at the gate with about 15 minutes to spare. My take-away is that 2 hours between flights is only sufficient if you sail right through all the check points.
Flight into Christchurch (CHC)
The flight to Christchurch (CHC) on an Airbus A320 was equally a good experience on Air New Zealand, although the weather made some portions of the flight a bit turbulent. Retrieving my suitcase and bike at CHC was a breeze, its a smaller international airport and the bags came out only a few minutes after we arrived at the gate – impressive!
The taxi and rideshare (Uber) stand is right outside the terminal exit doors, so that was convenient. I picked a waiting taxi since I had not ordered an Uber ahead of time. Another good experience, a friendly South Korean native called Shem was my driver. He had been living in Christchurch for 25 years, having followed his 2 sons to the country after their University education in the country.
Tipping here seems to be on par with England, where a tip is not really expected but you can leave a couple of NZ$ if you like – if you tip 10% for excellent service you are considered “generous” 🙂
Chateau on the Park – Doubletree by Hilton
Arriving at the Doubletree by Hilton, which was aptly named “Chateau on the Park”, it was soon clear that this was not your usual Doubletree that you would experience in the USA. I got a chance to walk around the property while they got my room ready. The exterior of the 3 story complex looks like a European chateau, and the enclosed grounds were like a well-kept English garden. That evening I tried the onsite restaurant and had a wonderful roast lamb main course – it was delicious and not at all how I remembered lamb that my mum used to cook – sorry mum!
Once I gained access to my room, it was only 11:30am so I reassembled my gravel bike and soon found what I thought was a show-stopper! I could not find the bolt that fastens the rear derailleur to the frame, and assumed that the TSA agents lost it when they rummaged though the bike case during their inspection. Several other loose parts had come out of the plastic container and were running around the bottom of the case. I searched high and low for the bolt but to no avail. A quick google of the local area revealed a promising bike store only minutes away called Hub Cycles (https://hubcycles.co.nz) and gave them a call to see if they might have the bolt I was looking for. A short Uber ride later, I was at the store and showing them the SRAM AXS derailleur and the missing bolt when it struck me… the bolt is built into the derailleur arm, it cannot be removed which is different from my Trek Domane road bike and the Shimano group set it has installed. So, the trip was unnecessary – but in my defense, this was the first time I had taken the Trek Checkpoint gravel bike apart. I don’t think I’ll forget this part of the reassembly process in future 🙂
This first night I turned-in early at 9:30pm, but reflected on the highlights of the day and came to an inescapable conclusion. The highlight is the people… they are genuinely friendly and want to help where they can. Starting with the flight to Auckland there was Joanna who I wrote about earlier. Then, while checking into the hotel I met a hotel worker called Graham who helped me with my bag wrangling, but he wasn’t the porter. We struck up a conversation around the question “what’s in the big bag?” After which he left. A short time later he returned having remembered some great rides around the area and wanted to tell me about them. He said if you like riding hills you need to ride over to Sumner then up the hill to Summit Road, and ride the 3 peaks. Lastly, there was the guy that served me over at Hub Cycles, I didn’t get his name but he enthusiastically shared ride ideas with me. Nice people all of them…
In summary, it’s been a wonderful day and I am thankful that I am in New Zealand for the first time. This is going to be a great adventure, its all but assured with the kind people of this land.