Charlotte to Auckland: A Tale of Turbulence Survived

Auckland, NZ—We arrived in Auckland after four flights took us more than 11,000 miles in 23 hours. Few of those hours were spent sleeping. Thanks to Qantas, I watched three movies and a documentary, completed too many crossword puzzles and read magazines and a book. I wanted to sleep more, but there’s something about planes that isn’t conducive to my resting.

Getting to Los Angeles was half the battle with a stopover in Dallas. Once we boarded at LAX, headed for Sydney, we understood that we had about 14 hours to pass over the Pacific Ocean to reach Australia. Qantas provided good service, including pretty good food and an amazing array of movies and TV shows, documentaries, music and games. The problem came sometime in the dark of night when my movie was interrupted by a solemn-voiced captain suggesting strongly that his crew should take their seats, buckle in and prepare for turbulence.

I’m not a white-knuckle flier. In fact, I’m relatively fearless in the air. I do make an exception for excessive turbulence over a vast expanse of ocean. If I could be sure that there’s an island below that would provide the relatively soft landing that Oceanic 815 found in Lost, perhaps I wouldn’t mind so much. Lacking that, I don’t like heavy turbulence in mid-ocean and that kept me awake for the better part of an hour in this passage.

We did, however, arrive in a mildly haggard state in Sydney this morning. The arrival didn’t allow us much of a view of the city and we had just enough time to make it through the airport to our gate for Auckland before we were on another plane. The pilot warned we would have a long taxi to the furthest runway at the airport. He was absolutely on target. We taxied for at least 15 minutes before taking off--far from the terminal.

It was all worth it, however. As we lifted off from Sydney, we had a spectacular view of the harbor, the Opera House and harbor bridge. We saw the beaches strung around the harbor like a necklace of sand and the beautiful blue waters below. It was magical.

Another three hours or so and we landed in Auckland. We were treated to great views of the light turquoise waters lapping against the shores and sailboats in the harbor.

Met at the airport by shuttle driver, we were introduced to Auckland by a drive through interesting neighborhoods that reminded us of similar areas in Seattle and San Francisco. Auckland’s volcanic hills provide a backdrop against which its residents have built their homes with eclectic architecture. The result is a charm evident in gingerbread trim on the eaves of porches, parks with lush trees and grasses and buildings dated by their decorative moldings and an occasional date like the one I saw shortly before we got to our hotel—1909.

The hotel is modern and our tour guide is experienced. We had a bounteous and delicious dinner with our fellow travelers from London and Washington and Chicago Now time for a good sleep in a comfortable bed as we prepare to begin our adventure in earnest tomorrow morning with breakfast at 6:30, bags outside the door at 7:30 and onto the coach at 8:30. We’ll see a bit more of Auckland’s city environs before heading to the caves of Waitomo and the Maori center in Rotorua.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all. It’s celebrated here, too. We saw a local fellow wearing a green and white top hat as we arrived at our hotel this evening. Erin Go Bragh!