No jetlag for me!

January 4, 2019

I arose before the crack of dawn to the dulcet tones of my mother pounding on the front door. Apparently, leaving by 9am means arriving to my house at 7:15. Ugh.  At around 8:15, Holly arrived and we loaded up the car. Not to eager to jump into international mode, we had breakfast at Shari’s just before crossing the border into Canada. But Catherine, you ask, didn’t you go to New Zealand? Why, yes I did. As ridiculous as it may seem, the best course of action for us was to drive to Vancouver and fly to Auckland direct. No TSA? No problem.

Lake Wakatipu, the site of Queenstown

Our 14-hour flight was fine.  We played some musical chairs with the assistance of the gate agent, but eventually I was actually sitting with Marshall, and mom got her aisle seat. Thankfully Marshall and I were close to the bathrooms, because I did not want jet lag so I drank enough water to fill a bathtub.

Dinner was interesting. They served me beef. I had no choice; the chicken ran out rows and rows ahead of me. I honestly do not remember how it tasted, only that I ate it incredibly fast and very sloppily. You see, during the first meal service the plane hit some rough skies. The poor man a few rows away had apple juice he tried desperately to keep from spilling everywhere. He did not succeed. Beverage service was suspended just as the cart was to the row in front of me, and I am glad for that.  I do not possess the skills even of Apple Juice Man. There would have been no hope for me. But, we made it through and I managed to sleep a couple hours before rising to breakfast, which also included a side of severe turbulence.

The gondola was steep. Very steep.

We landed at 6:00 AM (on Sunday; yay IDL!) in Auckland and waited around until our 9:00AM flight. You know how layovers go.

By noon, we were finally at our hotel in Queenstown, the Heartland Hotel. Its cute Swiss-style chalets were reserved for 6 of us. Adorable triangles with West facing, floor-to-ceiling windows had such nice views of the lawn and the evening sun. Unfortunately there was no air conditioning, so they were also boiling hot late into the evening. The other 3 stayed in a room in the main hotel. I never asked if they had air conditioning.

The first afternoon in Queenstown was spent at leisure, and most people found their own things to do. Marshall, Nolan, Mike, and I had pre-booked tickets on the gondola and the luge rides. The luge rides were so. much. FUN! They’re not luges, but rather a go-kart/pushcart/toboggan hybrid. Also the tracks were miniature roads. Basically, it’s downhill Mario Kart and it’s awesome.

At the top of the chairlift, ready for ride #2. Slowing down at the end of ride #2

The evening was spent having a casual dinner and going to bed early.

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