So here we are, up in the air (not like the movie), flying to Wellington. I can't believe I have actually stepped foot on New Zealand soil; it's been such a long time coming that now that it's arrived it's all very surreal. I have observec some things along the way thus far, surprisingly soon, I must say. Firstly, there are mandy different kinds of clouds- and no I don't mean the actual 'scientific' names for them, but rather there are clouds that look like somebody had a mashed potatoe fight, huge dollops stuck to the floor, or clouds that look like too many sheep crammed together in a too small pen (a new meaning to counting sheep?), or clouds that look like frost when it sticks up on freezer burnt meant, , or clouds that look like cake batter in the pan waiting to go into the oven, and of course, clouds that just look like clouds (these have a yet to be determined likeness to something). This leads me to my second point: the Pacific Ocean, or rather how huge it is. It just boggles my mind how BIG the thing is, and how reletively short it took to fly over and across it. Third, and most importantly, AIR CANADA NEEDS TO TAKE LESSONS FROM AIR NEW ZEALAND, for reals. They had the most hilarious safety exit-seatbelt-listen to the crew video for us to watch at the beginning of both our 14 and 1 hour flights, and their stewardesses are SO friendly! Plus their accents beat Canadian ones any day of the week, eh. It's just great service, with good in flight movie selection on the transoceanic flight, reletively good-bordering-on-great food (...it's airplane food). I had butter chicken which came with green beans, a side cole-slaw type salad, glass of wine, dessert (didn't eat it though), and crackers and cheese for my dinner, and then for breakfast I had a three cheese omelette with a turkey sausage, a tomato, a little yogurt, a fruit cup and a mamosa- it was Ann's birthday, how could we not?
The 14 hour flight would have been great if I would have slept, but I alas, I was unable to enter the Promised Land of Slumber for longer than ~2 1/2 hours. Sad face. As well, my eyes started weeping this mysterious green goo, which I am loathe to believe is a symptom of pink eye (yuck!), that has since subsided (for the time being?), but during said flight, felt like it was glueing my eyes together. Blah. But, we are getting into Wellington so I need to get ready for that!
So we landed in Wellington! We got to the baggage claim and both Hilary and I retrieved our backpacks, but Ann, poor Ann. Her bag somehow didn't make it on the Welly flight, so the man in the baggage services department said to wait until the next flight, only another half an hour, and gave us $12 in vouchers for refreshments. Ann stayed with our rather massive pile of bags for such small ladies while Hilary and I went upstairs to hunt down said refreshments and also to figure out when and what shuttle bus to take. It only cost $8.50 to get into the city from the airport, but the bus driver was grumpy because we each used a twenty and cleaned him out (how were we supposed to know?). So we got the refreshments, which are a bit pricier than Canada, but that's in an airport mind you, and again waited as various coloured and shaped suitcases slowly paraded down the carousel in front of us- sidebar: how can there be so many red bags?! (Ann's back pack is red)- and again, none of them were hers. I guess the solution then is for the nice people at the airport to deliver her suitcase to the hostel we are staying at sometime today.
That's the thing, the people here are SOO nice! Like really, SO NICE! Besides the bus driver, everyone we've talked to has been really helpful and happy. Example: this man on the bus noticed Hilary and I looking at the bus map and the Lonely Planet map trying to figure out where we should get off the bus, and he interjected and told us which one to. Then a lady sitting further back said "Just wait until the next stop, I will show you where you want to go." And she did! It was just really nice, not knowing anything about the place to have somebody just help you out on their way to work.
As we drove into the city, I couldn't help but notice how oddly similar it looks to Prince Rupert, only it has a distinctly more British feel; the houses are colourful and on hillsides, but their archetecture just speaks of a more colonial time. It's not a very skyscraper-y kind of city, though it does have fancy stores and such on the main drag (akin to Robson Street, only a lot less busy, and more town feeling), but their are houses with lawns almost in the city center, so...
So then we arrived! At our hostel, I mean. We are staying at the Downtown Backpackers Hostel for the next 10 nights. It's a historical building, I haven't yet checked much of it out beyond the front steps to use the free internet, the lobby and my room, but it seems to have an age-ed feel. I had a shower and packed my pack to pare down some of the excess bags I have, and am looking at getting a SIM card for my iPhone later today (it's only 1pm!), but before I do that I am in need of a serious nap, a very, very serious nap. And so, I go!
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