New Zealand Express: Day 8 Returning Home

By the numbers

16 kilo bag

Some duty free booze

Two boots through security xray

 

The journey to New Zealand had finally come to an end, I was going home after a quick trip to New Zealand. I had to be up early and I was mobile just before 4am and checking to see the  flight board update. It told me on my phone I still had 40 mins to wait. I thought this was incorrect so I went down stairs to look fort myself. I was nearly going back to sleep for 40 mins extra. My gut instincts was right that check in had actually opened and the international departures was open too. This was nothing like the post pandemic opening with everything opening late. I picked up a trolley and took that up to my room.

 

Check in was the usual and really easy with no problems. The wait going through security was a whole different matter. The line up for the security gate was long and once through the immigration part was the line for security. It took a little bit getting through and I was chatting to the nice security lady who dropped a bombshell. I had to take my shoes off as they covered my ankles. I had to put them on a security tray and wait for them and my bag to go through. That was something new. I had to put them back on after going through security and the issue wasn’t really clear.

 

I found breakfast with coffee so I was set until I made it to the plane. Deciding it was best to wander over to where the gate was located meant it was something like a 10 min walk. I had plenty of time, but I did not want to rush. When we were told to board I knew it was going to be that one step closer to being back in Australia. The flight itself was uneventful and I did end up with a little bit of an issue that I never realised. I was taking pictures in the baggage area while waiting for my bag and was asked to delete the photos. Though they should make sure they were permanently deleted as all it did was send them to the easily accessible recycle bin. I had nothing to declare, so I was allowed out. From the looks of it I was actually the first person allowed through back into the main terminal of the airport.

New Zealand Express: Day 7 Auckland Bound

By the numbers

16 kg bag

9.99 kms

12,681 steps

I was up earlyish as I wanted to get some things done before my flight that left around lunch time. The weather was a bit iffy as it looked like it was going to rain, but the sun kept coming out so you could never tell what was going to happen. I went to a local hospital to visit with a family member before I was due to leave for the Whangarei airport. I thought that by arriving within an hour of bag drop finishing, then all would be good. It seems I still had around a 10 min wait until.

 

I hooked myself up with my Ipod as I was ready to listen to music on the plane and then I was ready for the flight. The I was able to watch the people get off the plane and the bags get loaded onto the plane, which was pretty cool to watch, but I knew my bag was there. We did board a couple of minutes early and it wasn’t actually a full flight. Considering there were 13 rows, it was actually a small plane. I soon found that my ipod was flat, which could be due to me leaving it on charge so it would somehow discharged still being connected to the charger over the last couple of days. The flight with everyone on it left early, which I was happy with. After a short flight we landed into Auckland and that was when I would take the last leg of my journey.

 

There was only one ground crew guy doing everything from stopping the props, moving the stairs and unloading. It would explain the 15 min wait for the bag to appear, but I wasn’t in any hurry since I was heading to where I would be staying the night. I walked from Domestic to International and was happy that I had a jumper in my bag as it was feeling a little cool with the wind blowing around the airport. Once I entered the international terminal, I was looking at the flights that were leaving and found there were several that afternoon leaving for the Gold Coast. I could have left like that, but I had left it for Monday. The airport was a touch busy and I made my way out of the building to get to the hotel. I had an issue with my booking as I had somehow put my surname as my given name. It was an easy problem to fix, but if that was a flight then the issue would have been a bigger problem. I had been told off for doing that once before, but allowed on the flight.

 

Once I was in my room, I knew I had a shower as I was asked which I would prefer. My shower was later not then. I put my flat ipod on charge and decided to check into my flight for the next morning or else I could forget to do so. Once that was sorted out I hung around letting my ipod to charge before deciding I could go for a wander outside of the airport. I got stuck in the far end of the carpark and had to use maps to find a pedestrian access to the outside world. The whole airport is getting an upgrade so they basically shifted all the bus services that left from the front of the terminal, so now you have to walk. I found my way to the Warehouse outside of the airport and found a tourism training building that basically was a Jetstar and Qantas training area that includes the rafts that deploy on the doors. I wanted to walk around to Butterfly Creek to see what that was. Turns out to be some sort of adventure park that you have to pay to enter. It was trying to rain so I wanted to head back. I did find a putput golf course on the other side of the park. Once back at the airport I was trying to figure out where to catch the express bus services, but only seen some of the local bus services. I do know where to catch the Supershuttle to my accommodation in the city, so there is that. It had cooled down and I followed everyone into the international terminal to find it had gotten pretty busy. The good thing is I am at the airport as I have to get an early flight so I am organised, which is pretty good.

 

New Zealand Express: Day 6 Last Day Whangarei

 

Today the weather decided that it wanted to rain and it rained for most of the day. Before we left to go out, I was looking through family history records and taking out the duplicates that I was going to use for my own records. I still have to pack as I will be leaving the next day for Auckland and then ultimately back home on Monday. By the time we returned, the rain had basically gone, and I was back to looking through the records. It was a very easy day as nothing much happened at all apart from getting around town.

 

New Zealand Express: Day 5 Relaxing Whangarei

 

The weather seems to have started cooling down and while the days are warm, the night here has started getting cooler. Give it another couple of months or less and it will be full on winter. I decided to stay in this morning and go through some family records as I kept finding things stashed in unlikely places.

 

I came across a few of my grand mothers records including an old drivers license from the around the 1950s I think. All hand written and nothing digital. The one thing that turned me off was going through a container of photo albums and finding a dried out mummified sparrow. At first I thought it was a bookmark. It wasn’t a bookmark and I removed it from the house quick smart. That really turned me off and I couldn’t get the thought out of my head. I put everything back where I found it. That was a nope, nope, nope moment. I did come across old film canisters and slides, things that would be difficult to make copies of, but not impossible.

 

Not much really happened apart from moving a family member from the hospital to a care facility that turned out to be pretty huge, as they will be there temporarily until something opens up with availability in the care facility of their choice where they will be looked after. I got to see another side of Whangarei I hadn’t seen before and it was interesting. I did end up with something I had been craving since I been in New Zealand, and that was their roast meals. I tend to love them when I am here, that is when you can find them.