Kiwis and Fairy Bread

11, 12, 13 December 2023

We made it!! We are on the other side of the world!! And both the scenery and people are beautiful.

After all the stress about our 18 hour flight, it was really very comfortable. We’ve had many a flight that seemed to never never end. Air New Zealand are real pros. Now we did splurge a bit on an Economy Sky Couch. This was three seats, each with a foot rest (like you find on a lounge chair) that was raised to the level of the seat. A mattress pad was laid on top. Some pillows and blankets made it a bed. There was even a special seat belt called a “Cuddle Belt” that attached to the back of the seat in front of us and clicked into our center seatbelt. Fastened vertically on top of our blankets, it kept Mike and I snug and safe.

And the turbulence didn’t bother us! Somehow, it felt like it was rocking us to sleep. Mike slept about 8 hours. Me, only about 4. I kept watching the Map Channel. But I was very relaxed with Mike beside me, so got off the plane refreshed. SO if you ever get a chance, do the Sky Couch!

Such kind flight attendants and airport staff. Even Biosecurity wasn’t as a big a deal as everyone on YouTube and our fellow passengers had suggested it would be.

We crossed the International Date Line during our flight. That means that while we left on a Monday, we arrived on a Wednesday. So we never experienced Tuesday. The world is weird and wonderful.

So in short, we are off to GREAT start!