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Cambridge-LHR-SFO-AKL; mooching around.
C and I have arrived in Auckland, and not before time. En route we had the slightly surreal experience of telling the US immigration guy that we were going to be in his country for all of four hours, only for him to ask us where in the US we were staying. Something about droids and programming comes to mind, though it might have been a clever ruse to find out if we were telling the truth and/or probe any language difficulties.
United and AirNZ both have swish AVOD entertainment systems on their 777s, but United's execution kicks NZ's into next week. (Note to self: complain to AirNZ that their IFE GUI is frustratingly slow to respond, and they have too much programme choice - or, if you prefer, that it's terribly poorly indexed and hard to browse.) AirNZ's economy seats seem slightly smaller than United's, but - amazingly - my back was not sore on arrival in NZ, which was not something I could say during the couple of hours we were in SFO.
The biosecurity screening at the airport was noticeably straightforward and fast even though we weren't sure how to answer some of the questions. (Our flight landing around 0530 - and slightly ahead of schedule at that - might also have had something to do with it.) They have a screening step where they ask you about the answers on your landing card to identify what they actually want to take a look at. After an inspection of my walking boots - my efforts in cleaning them the other day were appreciated - they then x-rayed everything anyway. (We've watched Passport Patrol back in Blighty from time to time so knew what to expect.)
And then we caught the bus downtown and saw this. I mean, I know it was a long flight, but a 40-foot high rubber duck?! No, we weren't dreaming; TV FOUR commissioned him to promote their relaunch.
Today we only got as far as mooching around the CBD a little (with our heavy bags), finding the right bus for the motel, checking in, hosing ourselves down, and getting in a few supplies. (The heat and humidity were dreadfully sapping; I think opting for a car with air-con will prove valuable, at least here on North Island.) The making of plans for tomorrow has been belayed until we see what state we're actually in. C has already gone to bed and I am not far behind her, even though it's still light. so sleeepy....
C and I have arrived in Auckland, and not before time. En route we had the slightly surreal experience of telling the US immigration guy that we were going to be in his country for all of four hours, only for him to ask us where in the US we were staying. Something about droids and programming comes to mind, though it might have been a clever ruse to find out if we were telling the truth and/or probe any language difficulties.
United and AirNZ both have swish AVOD entertainment systems on their 777s, but United's execution kicks NZ's into next week. (Note to self: complain to AirNZ that their IFE GUI is frustratingly slow to respond, and they have too much programme choice - or, if you prefer, that it's terribly poorly indexed and hard to browse.) AirNZ's economy seats seem slightly smaller than United's, but - amazingly - my back was not sore on arrival in NZ, which was not something I could say during the couple of hours we were in SFO.
The biosecurity screening at the airport was noticeably straightforward and fast even though we weren't sure how to answer some of the questions. (Our flight landing around 0530 - and slightly ahead of schedule at that - might also have had something to do with it.) They have a screening step where they ask you about the answers on your landing card to identify what they actually want to take a look at. After an inspection of my walking boots - my efforts in cleaning them the other day were appreciated - they then x-rayed everything anyway. (We've watched Passport Patrol back in Blighty from time to time so knew what to expect.)
And then we caught the bus downtown and saw this. I mean, I know it was a long flight, but a 40-foot high rubber duck?! No, we weren't dreaming; TV FOUR commissioned him to promote their relaunch.Today we only got as far as mooching around the CBD a little (with our heavy bags), finding the right bus for the motel, checking in, hosing ourselves down, and getting in a few supplies. (The heat and humidity were dreadfully sapping; I think opting for a car with air-con will prove valuable, at least here on North Island.) The making of plans for tomorrow has been belayed until we see what state we're actually in. C has already gone to bed and I am not far behind her, even though it's still light. so sleeepy....
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