Finally in Christchurch! It took more than 30 hours of travel from Madison to this gorgeous city, and they all have worth it. Perhaps too many hours sitting down on an airplane or airport lounge, but they have been pretty civilized compared to the 48 hours plus that I used to ride on a bus to visit my parents back in college.
Luggage ticket showing my travels until Auckland
The trip has not always been smooth. I had some issues with my ticket in Auckland, but was able to sort all that out. People at the domestic counter where very helpfulI, even though they were absolutely swamped by an horde of travelers. At the end, I had to buy a new ticket that, I was assured, will be reimbursed in a few days. The whole experience allowed me to reunite with an old acquaintance, and old friend whom I had not seen in ages. I got to spend quality time with him as he helped me communicate my needs at he airport. Here is his picture.
An old faithful friend
This experienced with messed-up plane tickets has helped me realize even more how much I am used to the cell phone. It is surprising, because it was not that long ago that we used pay phones for all of our calls. These phones, endangered species in the US, have been protected in New Zealand. I had to call about eight times the office of the US Antarctic Program in Auckland. Mike, on the other side of line, was extremely helpful. The phone was outside of the terminal, so I spent some time enjoying the summer weather. In fact, I had forgotten what grass looks like.
A mirage coming from Madison. Nice weather in Auckland's airport
Here in Christcurch, for whom I will make another journal entry, I am enjoying the warm season and, believe it or not, it seems that people are not so hooked to their cell phones. I now realize that the last time I saw a bunch of people in the same room interacting only with modern technology was in LA. New Zealanders and people traveling here do have cell phones, they just seem to be more interested on the outside world.
Here are a few images that are meant to summarize those more than thirty hours...
A mirage coming from Madison. Nice weather in Auckland's airport
This view changed as I moved to bigger planes, but it was pretty much the same for endless hours.
Great views from the plane's window
Did some exercise going from gate to gate.
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The moment in which, according to the airplane's tv, we were crossing the date line. February 9 just lasted a few hours for us.
Final screen.