Arrived at Hotel in New Zealand

The flight from Melbourne to Auckland was pleasant. At just over 3 hours, it was super short compared to the flight from LAX to Melbourne just a few weeks ago. I am still very impressed with the perks/benefits of flying internationally and/or flying non-US airlines. We were served dinner about 45 minutes into the flight and I had my soy-braised chicken, rice, vegetables, salad, and roll with a small bottle of complimentary wine. Unfortunately, the 737 that I was flying on had a stripped down version of the entertainment system that I enjoyed on the A380. While still rather extensive, this system offered a more limited selection. Unfortunately, many of the choices had also been offered on the flight from LAX to Melbourne. In any case, I found a movie to watch and also listened to some music for the duration of the flight.

Customs in New Zealand was an entirely different experience from Melbourne. First, it was convenient that I had a US passport, because I could go in the 'Other Passports' lane instead of the 'New Zealand/Australian Passports' lane. This sped up the process. I flew through the customs desk and my bag was one of the first off the bag claim area. A short hop through the screening process and I was through (not nearly as complicated as the Qantas agent made it sound like it would be). No one asked to see my return itinerary (the one that I was told I needed to have or they would send me back on the next flight). In any case, the whole experience was much more pleasant.

I quickly hired a taxi and was off on my way to the hotel for the night. New Zealand is 2 hours ahead of Melbourne, so I arrived at about 10pm local time and it took about 45 minutes to get to the hotel. I am staying in a hotel that offers much more than I need. I have a 2 bedroom / 2 bathroom apartment with a kitchenette (complete with cooking utensiles) and laundry facilities. In some senses, it is too bad that I won't be here later in the trip when the laundry would be more useful. The rooms are very nice but the hotel has an odd sort of feeling to it... The lobby is very small and the hallways are a little sparse. In any case, you need to be buzzed into the elevator to go to your floor, so that is comforting. Neither the area, nor the hotel seem shady (or to be in a bad area of town). Nonetheless, I am looking forward to getting over to the island for the conference tomorrow.

The hotel does not have air conditioning, so right now I have the balcony door open and the breeze is great! It is interesting to note that no climate control system is built in here. Rather, I found a space heater in the room (I had to confirm that it was indeed a heater since it looked like it could have been a dehumidifier). Seems kind of odd to me since I think it probably gets decently cold here.

In any case, it feels good to be in New Zealand and I can relax and enjoy my time here. Tomorrow I will try to do some touring (though my bags will make that a bit more difficult) and then meet up with Anita and Tim at the Ferry around 2pm or so.