Traveling to Wellington, NZ

As we packed up our hotel room to catch a flight to Wellington, our second stop on our adventures, I put my new knowledge of rugby to use and watched the first game of the World Cup taking place in France. Due to the time zone difference, the game was on at 7 am New Zealand time. The match was between the New Zealand All Blacks and the French team. France won 29-13 on a very hot day. As I write this on October 14, I see both teams are still in it, and that the final game will be played on October 28th. I did not watch another game on the trip.

During our breakfast in the hotel we noticed a couple of guys dashing down during half-time. They were glued to their phones. As soon as the game was back on, they ran back to the big screens. I was actually surprised the game was not on the tv in the hotel bar.

We got to the domestic side of the Auckland airport very, very early because Super Shuttles insisted we needed to be there two hours in advance. We were there so early we were able to get seats on an earlier flight and still have plenty of time to get to our gate. I want to give a shout out to Air New Zealand. They were both cheap and treated passengers like they wanted us to fly with them. As I was adding the link I see they are running a deal, $1,250 round trip from Los Angeles, including an extra city. Tempting. Very tempting.

Our economy tickets included checked luggage, the ability to select our seats, and for an extra $6 we could upgrade to be able to change our flight for another one that day (as long as there was availability). During the hour-long flight they gave us a cookie and tea. Even our flight from Los Angeles to Auckland was nicer than we expected. If they flew in the States, I would choose them every time.
 

The Wellington Airport deserves a shout out, too, for having the best artwork for a small airport. Wellington is home to the WETA Studios, the people who make the special effect costumes for movies like Lord of the Rings. More about them in another post. A few days after landing a friend shared an image from the airport and asked me if that is really what it looks like. Yes, it does.

We hit our first bump on the trip when I went to board a Super Shuttle and learned I should have booked in advance. They only have three in Wellington and that one was previously booked for a private ride. Oops! Fortunately, they have mass transit to the city. After asking the bus driver how to pay, she told us to get on the bus. I assumed we'd pay at the end, but she dropped us off and drove off. Still trying to figure out mass transit.

It was becoming apparent my suitcase was not meant to make it home with us. We were only on the second leg of our trip and the wheels were not turning, and though it was only about 20 pounds, it was more than either of us wanted to carry with our also heavy backpacks. Don was a good sport and carried it from the bus stop up the hill to our hotel. Willis Wellington Hotel was a great hotel. It's only downside is it is uphill! The breakfast area was in a restaurant (vs. in the bar) and had a nicer spread of options. Starting the day with food always helps.

Our hotel

Our room

While researching for the trip I read, "there is no place as beautiful as Wellington on a sunny day." We started our time in this city on the perfect Spring day. We both shed layers and were ready to conquer the second city in our adventures.

We walked a lot!