New Zealand to Australia
                                    

The Chalice in Cathedral Square...Christchurch

I screwed up once in 30 days of driving.   It was the last day in Christchurch, and we had a few hours to utilize before our allotted time to return the camper back to Wilderness RV, and head to the airport.  So we decided to take a drive out into the country north of Christchurch to find a nice place to have an early lunch.  It happened.  First time in 30 days.   Very unexpected, as we were making our way out of the city,  I was making a left turn onto a busy through street, when I suddenly go "Oh #@*&" I am turning into the far lane, the wrong lane.   Yikes.  

What a dummy to suddenly be facing cars coming at you.   They all stopped and smiled nicely, while I am frantically backing up, trying not to hit anyone behind me, and then turn into the left side.   No harm, no foul.   No police office saw my offense, but damn I am kicking myself for being so stupid.   Sometimes, you just get your mind elsewhere, get all relaxed, last day and all, and you go into "Auto" mode.  I did.  I still cringe when I think about it.

Other than that, we had a great 30 days in New Zealand.   We turned our camper in with no incident, and they took us off to the airport for our late afternoon flight to Sydney.   This was a fabulous trip.   There are places I would come back to see, and some not.   But in 30 days, there were places we just could not fit into the schedule.  I would come back to see them and repeat some of my favorites.  It is an outdoor's paradise, with so much to see and do.   Not sure about Shelley.  She never will see the same movie twice you know.   For me, I would come back.

I booked our flight from Christchurch to Sydney on Emirates.   I love flying airlines that are known for their incredible class of service, and are not a typical US airline.   Emirates has a flight from Christchurch to Sydney, then on to Dubai, in a new Airbus A380.   This is the double decker Airbus with First class suites, showers, etc, really nice Business Class, both of which are on the top floor of the plane.   Then a massive economy floor on the bottom.  The price for an economy seat was the same as Air New Zealand, or Qantas, so I booked an economy seat on Emirates.  Two days before the flight, we received an email solicitation to upgrade to Business class for $250 each.  We declined, thinking we had lots of places upcoming in Australia to spend that money.  After all, it is only a 3.5 hour flight.  Much to our surprise as we check our bags and get our boarding pass, the handsome ticket agent tells us, "Congratulations, we have provided you a complimentary upgrade to Business Class for our flight today."  We thanked him, departed the ticket counter area, and danced a jig, we were so happy.  We had no idea what was in store.

                                                             

I admit, I am a real flying snob.  But this airline is incredible.  Better....much better the Singapore Air A380 that we took to Europe last year.  This plane was immaculate.  Business Class was huge, with every type of electronics at your fingertip.   Let's just say the color scheme was Gold.  In millions of miles of flying, I have never had a wine sommelier come to my seat to help me chose a wine to perfectly match my dinner selection.   I had a delicious salmon (it was excellent), and Shelley had beef.  She enjoyed hers, and she is very particular.  After dinner, I discovered this great bar (above) at the back of Business Class.  This really nice Flight Attendant from the Dominican Republic was our host and would make us any after dinner drink we could possibly ask for.   Would you like an aged Whiskey.  Done.  50 year old Port...done.   We got two glasses of Bailey's "Up" and were delighted to sip on that.  It was really fun.   She was a delightful hostess, which again, goes to show you what an incredible airline this is, down to every detail including their Flight Attendants.

But alas, all good things come to an end.  The flight was entirely too short, as I said, only 3.5 hours.   This is the kind of airline that makes a 14 hour flight a delight.   Guess I will have to put that on my list of "To Do" items.  They fly out of either Dallas or Houston to Dubai.  Ummm  Road trip anyone?   We were both laughing, smiling, and so thoroughly enjoying this entire flight, that as we departed, a nice Australian guy commented that, "you mates really seem to enjoy flying."     "Well mate, yes we do".  (Especially when you get into Business Class for free).

Now it is on to Sydney.   Shelley booked an Air B&B right on Hyde Park in the center of the city.   We took a 3 hour walking tour today to give us our first look at this city.  All I can say is that we are not in New Zealand anymore.  They drive on the left side the same, and have similar accents, but that is where it stops.  This is a big city.