Hi,
In my first report http://flight-report.com/fr/report-13145.html, I mentioned I would not report this NZ flight, but when sorting my thousand pictures I discovered I had enough matter to make a FR. This domestic NZ flight is part of the itinerary described in FR http://flight-report.com/fr/report-13145.html and was one of the legs of our trip back from the south of South Island to the north of North Island.
After a few days in Wellington, sort of a small San francisco nestling in a deep bay, very windy, we head on to Auckland. We chose NZ as there is actually no much choice and it's a way to implement our Miles and More account.
So we called Uber and got to the airport very quickly, driven by an indian or pakistani driver, as this is the case most of the time in NZ; sunday morning, nobody on the road, so the trip was quick and cheap.
In front of the terminal, it's sunny and …chilly though we are in the middle of summer.
Not many people on that sunday morning
We are kindly requested to use self check-in; actually there is a lot of staff around and they come immediately to help when a passenger shows the slightest hesitation; well, we manage to get our BP and bagage tags; these are very sticky things and it's very difficult to get rid of it when it sticks to your fingers, but we manage to use them properly and this is it; a member of staff shows how to put our bags on the belt and here they go.
Yes indeed this is the land of the Hobbit, and other funny creatures, and you can't forget it, not a chance!
So it will be NZ426 to Auckland, but I can't show you the BP , I lost it!
On the way to the gate let's take some pictures, shall we?
Many small planes with propellers used on small local lines; this one with former livery
B1900D, I presume.
The new NZ livery, I love it! No my pictures aren't bad, airport windows were just dirty!
Our aircraft today
In the meantime, we've reached our gate, number 16; security controls are at each gate, security staff goes from gate to gate depending on schedules.
Going on…
But, I must inspect the plumbing, and I have to get downstairs, and there at the end of a corridor on your right (depending which way u come from) there they are; am I a male? yes; lets' go! Well the inside is more attractive than the outside.
Back to the upper level, gate is now open, security gets as a breeze
And now our little story: on NZ domestic flights, front cabin passengers board by a jetway and rear cabin passengers have to get out down on the tarmac and enter the plane by an outside staircase thru the rear door; thus I can hear your question: where does front cabin finish and where does rear cabin start? Ah ah, we travelled from Christchurch to Wellington on row 14, and could board by jetway and front door as this was for pax until row 15; on this flight from Wellington to Auckland, we sat on the same row 14, and had to board thru rear door as jetway and front door was for pax till row 13 only; though it was same type of aircraft and full plane on both flights; there is some kind of mystery about it, don't u think?
So we get down onto the tarmac and I think "oh great, I'm gonna be able to take lots of pictures"
But once on the tarmac a guys runs to me and says "no photos"; YES SIR!
Anyway I manage to take that one; I love that (not the sandals of the guy in front of me, I speak of the livery)
Sitting on comfortable black leather seats;
Pitch is OK for such a flight , am 5'11"
Kia Ora on board magazine; I don't like uniforms of the airline, but it's only my opinion.
Let's get some fresh air
The screen will show the security instructions presented by NZ sports champions, and then commercial advertisements all thru the flight
Service is limited but a wide choice of hot or cold drinks and a biscuit. I think I had finished my cup before I took the picture.
Rest of the flight was just normal; from my seat no possibility to take pictures, so you will get a nice bonus hereunder.
And we land on time at Auckland; hundreds of meters on corridor, so british with their wall to wall cover.
Onwards to the bagage claim area
Some spotting on the way
Belts are easy to find, but are in a dark small room with low ceiling, a bit dreary.
Looking for exit sign,
but…I must inspect the plumbing once more; and this is sort of a disaster, whereas everywhere we've been in NZ public restrooms are so clean, (the one advertised as "Super Loo" in Taupo are the nicest I ever saw in the world), these one were very dirty; I show you the only "acceptable" vision.
Sorry folks to finish on that bad aspect of things, but forget about it and enjoy the bonus:
Wellington bay seen from our home
Lavish homes nestle on the hills
Didn't I tell u it looks like San Francisco?
View from another hill
If a friend of yours visits Wellington, no doubt he will send you this postcard
And if he doesn't choose a card of the cable-car, it will be Parliament
Ferns
I like these high ferns; we can understand why they have been chosen to decorate the new national flag,
they are everywhere in NZ
A lush jungle
Endangered species, Takahe birds have no wings.
Last pic of Wellington, do u like this blue "wedding cake"?
Auckland
modern city
…and tradition
so British (even the sky)
a city which definitely looks towards the sea
so much that cruiseship come and give a kiss to downtown Auckland
In NZ there are also lots of small towns; not very attractive as far as
buildings are concerned; most of them look like western US little towns;
Coromandel is a nice one, very well kept.
Coromandel Peninsula, don't u think these rolling hills look so british?
luxurious flora
Coromandel Peninsula
Again
Flora is much poorer in Tongariro national Park close to the volcanoes
But having a bath on Christmas day in pools of natural hot water (36° to 41°)
is a real pleasure
Did I say volcanoes?
Thanks to its perfect cone shape, Mont Ngauruhoe was used as a model in motion pictures.
You can't see it from this side but there is some smoke and steam coming out of its slopes all the time.
Mt Ruapehu, highest mountain on North Island and the most active volcanoe of NZ
Not Yellowstone but very beautiful and interesting place (Rotorua)
That's all folks, and now onwards to South Island but this is another story
PS: if u missed a chapter, please go to http://flight-report.com/fr/report-13154.html (so far it is in french only)
and/or http://flight-report.com/fr/report-13147.html (in english)
Excellent Flight Report!!!
I was in Australia last month, and I regret not to have been also to NZ!!
hi
thanks for comment
I spent a month in NZ after one week in New Caledonia and before one week in Melbourne and some days in Sydney, NZ was great, variety of landscapes, a mix of european landscapes and local flora; both islands are great. There will be pictures of South Island in my next FR coming soon.
So WLG tarmac staff are as photo-unfriendly as their colleagues in Paris ? NZ is going down one step in attractivity :(
At least, the terminal is plane-spotter friendly.
I hate being doused by commercial on IFEs. Another (less serious) demerit.
Thanks for sharing !
thanks for comment
terminal windows were not that clean but pictures are clear enough
Thanks for sharing! I was in AKL 2 days before you as I left New Zealand to head back to the US--so it's nice to see a report in New Zealand. It brings be back :-)
Wellington, sort of a small San francisco nestling in a deep bay, very windy,
- Not just Wellington...seems like everywhere I was in NZ, mostly the South Island, was incredibly windy
The new NZ livery, I love it!
- Me too! Especially the All Blacks livery
Seems like your experience was very similar to my flight a few days before on the same type of aircraft--good service and comfortable seats for a domestic flight.
Great bonus pics--Wellington really does remind me of San Francisco, albeit much smaller.
Coromandel Peninsula, don't u think these rolling hills look so british?
- I went to the set of Hobbiton also on the North Island and the rolling hills and countryside looked very British there as well--it's no surprise they decided to choose this area for The Shire
Nice pics of Tongariro! I didn't make it there, unfortunately--next time!
Hello, thanks for that rich comment
Yes NZ as a whole is very windy, but Wellington is supposed to be even more with over 300 days of gale a year; in Taupo we had some very windy days as well and so was Christchurch; in Queenstown it was so windy that there were big waves on the lake just like sea; amazing
Oh yes the All Black livery is fantastic
Yes WGN is much smaller than SF of course but much similiraty
There are rolling hills in many places, I drove all the way down from Paihia to Taupo, then to Wellington and we could enjoy this sort of english landscapes at several places
We spent 6 days in Taupo so could go to Tangarito Nat Park several times; first day was half cloudy half clear with peaks getting almost clear late afternoon, but somes days like Boxing day weather was very clear and blue sky.
Beautiful country isn't it !!!
Thanks for sharing this FR!
It's interesting that they had you walk underneath the jetbridge to get to the rear stairs. Seeing the bowels of the aiport is always interesting, probably why they don't want the pictures. I've never had a no photo on the tarmac yet, but I normally don't try and be as brazen as Marathon and start walking around away from the masses heading onto the plane.
I look the wood ceilings in the lobby of WLG, the giant eagles.... not so much.
Looks like a very comfortable short domestic hop that looks comparable to Japanese standards.
Fantastic bonus of Wellington. Looks less cloudy than SF :)
Hi
Thanks for comment
In NZ airports you will see everywhere charatcters and figures from the Hobbit land, they do much about ir; I don't like it
Wellington can be very cloudy, I can assure u, there were clear days when I took pictures, but the last two days we could not see the house across the street!! Las day at the airport I thought there was a fire somewhere as some sort of smoke was spreading over the runway and then I understood it was just a thick cloud of mist ,it was ver weirds really with a very sharp difference between clear zones and misty ones, and then there came a gust and it turned clear again; interesting these local weather phenomena.