Finally. A beginning to my long overdue blog about my adventure in the Southern Hemisphere! I’ve been down in New Zealand for about 2.5 weeks now, and life has been a whirlwind. The adventure to get here in the first place was something else.
I worked for Outdoor Adventures pretty much to the bitter end of my time in Fairbanks. The new crew was headed out on a staff training backpacking trip on the Monday of my departure (May 23), leaving the office unsupported. On the previous Friday, Mark (the bossman) casually asked me when I was leaving, and I said, “Monday night… Do you want me to open the office for a few hours?” With a little glint in his eye, he enthusiastically replied, “Yeah, that’d be great!” I think I successfully squeezed as many pennies out of that job as possible!
After finishing up work, I biked to the bank and ran some errands. Then it was back to the cabin for the final packing and determination of what stuff would make the cut. I had quite the difficulties in limiting my luggage. I had been told by Sarah (my Canadian boss in NZ) that there was limited space in the boat to the kiwi island. Here I was trying to pack for my volunteering, backpacking, roadtripping, photography, and “normal life” for the next 9-12 months. For a female with multiple interests, it wasn’t an easy task, but I guess I made it happen.
My friend Jason had a last hurrah before people started taking off for summer, so I got a chance to say bye to close friends and hear final teases before leaving town. I biked there, hung out, and then biked home (with some tears) before another friend Scott gave me a ride to the airport. Parting with the cabin was not happy. Friends Tim and Katie were left to take care of my precious cabin for the summer. If I could take it with me wherever I go, life would be perfect.
I got all checked in at the airport and then went back outside for a last whiff of Alaskan air before heading up the escalator to security. I’m not a fan of goodbyes. The day’s activities and the acknowledgement that I really was about to leave Alaska and friends made the tears flow. After some hugs and reassurance, I was alone and headed through security.
Sleep deprivation began pretty much at the beginning of the travels. I was seated in the row in front of the exit row, meaning I couldn’t recline my seat. The person in front of me was reclined all the way, so I had super limited tray space. I was also sitting on the aisle. Add all those factors up and you get an uncomfortable 5.5 hour flight from Fairbanks to Denver with virtually no sleep. Ugh. Next came a lovely 7 hour layover in Denver. I did explore all the concourses and find some Chocolate Therapy from Ben and Jerry’s. Overall it wasn’t a bad wait. The Denver to LA flight was pretty short, but I was seated in the same situation and ended up reading/writing for 2 hours.
I’d never been to LAX and was interested in seeing the airport. Turns out it was under construction and just a strange place. I had to grab my luggage, put it on a (free after searching!) cart, and walk over to Air New Zealand in terminal 2. The freshish air was nice and gave me an opportunity to call home and be outside. I’m not impressed by the international terminal at LAX. My carry-on 60L pack was first taken because the woman at the desk thought it was too big. It definitely would have fit in the overhead without a problem. Oh well. I had to pull out my laptop and more fragile items to go in my LowePro camera backpack. After that I went through security and felt more like a sheep than a person as I was herded one way and then another. It made me appreciate the Fairbanks airport even more! Once I got through security, I learned the international terminal is really small and can be explored in a time of 15 minutes. The best thing I found was a scrolling Michigan State Spartan sign. 🙂
Needless to say my wait was pretty boring and I ended up paying for internet during my 7 hour layover. (squeezed in some final episodes of The Office for some laughs) I got excited about leaving when I went to the Air New Zealand lounge to ask questions and heard my first 2 kiwi accents. Here I was a few hours away from becoming the foreigner surrounded by awesome accents! The wait finally ended with some food and increasing nervous anticipation for my departure.
I boarded the plane and glanced at the awesomely spacious first class seats. Some day? Actually who am I kidding? I’ll never have money for that kind of travel! The rest of the plane wasn’t exactly low class, though. Blankets, pillows, in-screen seats with movies, tv, music, games, flight tracker, food requests, etc. Throw in a dinner at 11:30 (with wine) and breakfast at 3:30 (without wine) to make for a very nice flight. I talked to the guy next to me a little after boarding and near the end of the flight. He’s originally from New Caledonia but is now a grad student in Maine. He was on his way to vacation in Australia for 2 weeks before going to visit his parents in New Caledonia for a bit. Awesome!
We landed in the darkness of Auckland a little after 5:30 am. I quickly finished the last of my smoked salmon. Yum!! Not normal breakfast food, but I didn’t want to risk having it taken from me. The weather in Auckland was lovely – pouring rain. Customs was a breeze! I was greeted with “Have a nice stay, mate!” It made my morning, even though I was exhausted. Although I had been slightly concerned about the paperwork it was suggested I have with my working holiday visa, the guy didn’t even open my folded visa. Clearly redheads don’t seem to be such a worry for NZ.
I picked up my luggage and proceeded through Biosecurity, getting my Xtratufs washed along the way. Nice of the kiwis to clean my boots for me! Finally I left the restricted zone for incoming international travelers and entered the area where Sarah would meet me. I did a quick scan and didn’t see her, but upon a second look around I saw her waving as she approached me. Luckily our brief Skype connection from January lasted long enough for us to recognize each other! After a welcoming hug and hello, we were out into the dark, showers, and wind of an early morning for a ride on the wrong side of the road.
