Halfway Around the World

Twenty eight hours for a cheeseburger and a nap - we've arrived in New Zealand! I think we've lost all sense of distance and time, but the trip here actually wasn't that bad at all. And it's already pretty obvious that the investment was worth it.

We awoke "this morning" (Wednesday) to freezing rain, sleet and snow in D.C. Nothing worrisome, but just the right amount of disgusting weather to help mentally propel us out of town on vacation. We finished up last minute packing, still exhausted from a fun Christmas celebration, and got on the road to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Dulles was easy. We had an hour delay, thanks to the mess outside, but we had a four-hour layover in Los Angeles, so we had no reason to stress. We just sat back with our books and watched the plane get de-iced out the window. About six hours later we arrived at LAX, had dinner and successfully worked with the gate agent to get seats next to each other on the long flight to Auckland.

I think we were both a little nervous about the 13-hour flight across the ocean. Neither Dave nor I had ever been on a flight that long. Was it going to last forever? Would we get bored? Could we sleep? It turned out not to be as bad as we had anticipated. Yes it was long, but we watched a three-hour movie, both fell asleep before it ended and for the next seven hours proceeded to fall into a state of deep, but broken naps. Then for the last three hours we got a little restless, but breakfast helped break things up. By the end of it all, we were certainly stiff, swollen and anxious to get up and off the plane.

Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, but the airport is still tiny relatively speaking. We found our bags and got through customs and rechecked our bags with no problem. We were immediately struck by the island-feel of the air and the reminder that we were now somewhere deep in the South Pacific. From the tiny glimpses of the outside, we saw rolling landscapes, water and wetland, temperate vegetation. It was very clear that we were far from home. And in our half awake, confused state, we sluggishly boarded our last flight of the day - a two-hour jump from Auckland to Queenstown.

The clouds break for a view of the mountains.

I don't think I'll ever forget that flight. We were surrounded by college groups on school study abroad trips. Gaggles of 18-year-olds loudly and awkwardly meeting for the first time as they set out for adventure. Outside, we were socked in by clouds, trying to get glimpses through the gray of the geography below. As we began our decent into Queenstown, the magic made itself known. We lowered down over endless snowfields and high peaks. Lush green mountains, capped with remnants of winter white and roughly cut apart by deep stream gorges. They were mountains, but different from any mountain landscape we have seen before.



Dropping quickly down into Queenstown

We dropped lower than the summits and worked our way inland toward Queenstown with rugged mountains closing in on either wing. It was hard to believe there could have been an airstrip tucked below us. But then Dave saw it around the side of one of the mountains and we quickly dropped down, and hit the breaks hard before reaching the end of the very short runway. We had arrived somewhere very new. Finally, we truly felt like we were 10,000 miles away from home.

The airport was tiny, like three garages glued together in a deep valley. Within minutes we had our bags and our rental car that we will call home for the next three weeks. We left the airport and felt free, ecstatic and hot. The sky was blue and the sun was warm. Oh yes, it is summer here in New Zealand and our D.C. winter clothes needed to be shed fast.

Dave acclimated himself to left hand driving on the other side of the road, with a stick shift car. Stay to the left, stay to the left. It was hard to focus because we just wanted to look up and around to the towering peaks and blue skies. We were in Queenstown in 10 mins and pulling up to our hotel.

I'll probably say this a lot over the next few weeks but the people here are friendly. Other than the accents, New Zealanders' good natures may be their most defining feature. We met the owners of the gorgeous little Brown's Boutique Hotel who gave us the lay of the land and showed us the shortcut through the back hedge right down into town (the gate is next to the giant chess board on the back patio). Now is the time to leave the car behind for a few days, he said. You can get everywhere on foot. And get ready, because in a few days, this town will triple in size for New Year's fun. But not to worry, "if you want to beat the crowds, you have a front row seat to the fireworks over the lake from your second floor balcony." Perfect.

Brown's Boutique Hotel. Our room is second from the right on the top floor.

While our room was getting finishing touches, we walked down into town to get some much needed lunch. The trick was to not sit still, or we'd fall asleep. We had been planning for months that our first meal in New Zealand would be a famous Ferg Burger. I hadn't had a cheeseburger of any kind for at least six months. And I was ready. It was a 45-min wait. We got a table right out front in the sunshine. And yes, maybe it was the jet lag, the squeals of the adventurers in the parasails way overhead, the excitement of vacation or the quick return of summer, but that enormous burger was worth the 28 hour trip to eat it.

Delicious Ferg Burgers

So now we are in our little room, with our balcony door open to the hills and the town and the mountains. Listening to birds sing and feeling the summer breezes, while drifting in and out of naps, our bodies are telling us that we have a lot to catch up on. Shortly we're headed into town to find more food and watch the sun close out our first day in New Zealand. We're happy, we're here and we're ready to start this adventure.

Our hotel room.

Napping, breathing, relaxing with the summer breezes.

The view over Queenstown from our balcony.