Round The World and other travels
A frequent flyer's collection of trip diaries
This is: Round The World 2004
Kia Ora, Aotearoa
I made sure that there would be no
lying in this morning. When I awoke with the sound of the
first
trains running, I made sure that I stayed awake. Bearing in mind
that I had a flight in the afternoon, on which I expected to be well
looked after
, I decided to forsake the hotel's breakfast offering in favour of
something much lighter from the nearby McDonalds. I was packed and
ready to go by about 0850 and decided that there was no point in
hanging around. I opted to take the train to the airport - the
station was next door! - rather than order the shuttle bus. It
proved to be far more comfortable and direct than the little shuttle
bus had been on arrival. I completed check-in and departure
formalities and headed for the QP (= Qantas Pub = Qantas Club ...
you see, I'm learning the lingo
) I used the computers for a while, then had a cup of tea and
decided to head for the gate.
(Link to flight log in side panel)
Immigration formalities at Auckland were nothing drastic and pretty soon I was outside and aboard one of those little hotel shuttles that had not been my planned route into town, but it was all I could see. After waiting around for a good 20 minutes or more while it filled up a bit, we headed off. An odd thought occurred to me. This was now the fifth country I had visited since leaving the UK and all of them, without exception, drive on the left. A piece of trivia, I suppose, but there it is. Eventually, I was dropped off at the Crowne Plaza. The three-hour time difference had thrown me a bit : it was evening locally, but to me it felt like mid-afternoon. I sensed that it would probably turn into a late night.