An hour ago I landed safely in Hong Kong a little over an hour ahead of schedule.
This meant that I had time to check into a pay as you go airport lounge, get a shower, find a drink and get access to free WiFi!
The flight was excellent. I have never flown Air New Zealand before and it was superb. That impression was of course accentuated by the fact that a friend of ours, Rachel, who happens to be a Stewardess for ANZ was working on the flight and she managed to get me an upgrade into Premium Economy. The flight was full otherwise I may have had a bed, but it was certainly better than economy - more leg room and much better food, perhaps the best airline food I have ever eaten. So I watched a movie and then slept so don't feel too bad...
I ended up sitting next to a chap who is the president of the motor racing club in New Zealand. He moved to NZ from the UK 15 years ago. Apparently NZ has a huge motor sport culture where many people build and race their own kit cars. It is also very cheap as a hobby in comparison to the UK. Interesting!
He also said that the NZ attitude is one of 'if you want to do it, just go and do it'. There are very few rules about what you can and cannot do, some of which are a good idea and others seem not to be such as you don't need car insurance, or boat insurance...
He talked a bit about Wellington, mainly that the weather can be really bad so it could be a good idea to live a bit further North. He mentioned a place called Whitby just up the west coast but still only 20 mins from the CBD. That could be worth a look. Once you get up on the hills which surround Wellington you get out of the microclimate that the landscape creates. I'll try to take a trip up the coast whilst I am there.
Wellington is well know for its winds as this YouTube video shows
Let's hope the pilots know what they are doing! All good fun...
So now I am in departures waiting for the next leg to Auckland on flight NZ038 departing at 19.15.
It's 17.40 here in Hong Kong and the sun is just going down. It was 28 degrees outside...
It's 9.40am at home so I am 8 hours ahead already with another 4 time zones to go...
More from me soon...
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