Return to the International Terminal

March 4-5, 2024

It was time to get back into the international saddle, so to speak. I haven’t been on an aeroplane or even in an airport since 2019 when Steve and I returned from our last European cycling adventure. It was with a mix of anticipation and anxiety that I once again took to the air. The occasion was a long delayed birthday trip with my dear friend Louise. About 15 years ago, we said we would do something to mark our 50^th and had planned to go to the Hopman Cup tennis tournament in Perth. That tournament is now defunct so it was a matter of coming up with our replacement. Lou had never been to New Zealand, so we thought that was a worthy and memorable destination. Steve and I had done the trip around NZ from north to south in a van many years ago, so it would be great to experience it again as a gal’s adventure. Our respective 50^th birthdays are some time in the past, but better late than never! It was time to put on my big brave pants, buckle up and head back to the international terminal.

I’m still a scaredy cat flyer but I have to say, the whole experience went pretty darn smoothly. Shame about the Qantas staff on our flight to Melbourne and the staff we saw when we disembarked in Melbourne. They all looked like they’d much rather be experiencing root canal surgery than being a member of Qantas cabin crew because none of them cracked a smile the whole time. Not to greet us onto the plane, not during the flight and not even to see us on our way as we left the plane. Nope, not so much as a faint turn up of the mouth, just a flat ol’ grim expression that wasn’t moving. That all changed when we got to the international terminal and boarded our flight to New Zealand with a Kiwi cabin crew – there were smiles all round and they were cheery folk for the whole flight. A sign of things to come? Indeed it was. The border control officer was friendly, the fella directing us to customs gave a smile and a laugh and was all round welcoming. Thanks New Zealand, you got us off to a friendly flyer! It was a late arrival to our hotel and we crashed even later as we adjusted to the time difference, but eventually got some sleep, ready to face the start of our NZ adventure.

We’re starting off with a couple of days in Auckland, so day one was a couple of classic tourist experiences. After a wander to get our bearings, we set off for a Weta tour to see and learn about some of the behind the scenes talent and techniques used by the very clever folk behind Weta Workshop, probably most famous for the work they did crafting the sets and creatures for the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. They work on all sorts of projects, beyond just movies and the tour took us through rooms set up as an interactive tour where we could touch and try and watch different effects being created. Very clever. 

We were shown how giant figures are created and were told that a 16 year old girl once approached Weta, wanting to work for them. She created a way of developing giant eyes, which to that point no one had been able to do. It turns out, the way that 16 year old girl developed the technique is still used by Weta and while she’s no longer sixteen, she does indeed now work for them. There was a figure in one of the rooms, a model of one of the Weta creators at his desk and in the next room they had recreated this model in giant form. We were told the eyebrows are made from fishing line and each strand is inserted one by one by hand, taking eight hours to create one eyebrow. So the eyebrows we saw on the giant model took two days to create! Now that’s attention to detail! I did ask our guide what was in it for film makers, to choose this form of effect over CGI, computer generated techniques, given that it was so time consuming. She said it’s for longevity, because this form of hand modelled effect stands up over time, whereas CGI from the past can look clunky, as digital techniques progress. We wandered through the different rooms looking at the various models and creativity on show and it was an interesting look inside a very clever and very creative process. 

Next stop was the Sky Tower, to get a birds eye view of Auckland. We’d been in rain coats most of the day, with the weather being a bit grey and rainy, but the clouds decided to be on their way and the blue sky emerged, so we headed up 51 floors to get a glimpse across Auckland, while the weather was behaving enough to give us a view. We strolled around the 180 degree view, while also watching some intrepid folk doing the cabled bungee jump off the top of the tower, hurtling past the glass as we looked out. A round of applause to those brave adrenalin chasers. We could look across to the harbour, to the symmetrical gardens of the Domain and across the city skyline. The perfect elevated way to get our bearings. 

Lou had read about an event happening down at the harbour where the Auckland Bridge was going to have a Vector light show, described as a “five-minute sustainable light and sound show that takes you on a journey throughout the Pacific, from Tuvalu to Tonga, and everywhere in between”. It sounded fascinating and we were ready for a journey throughout the Pacific, created in lights. We walked down to the harbour district, found our vantage point where we could see the bridge and waited for it to get dark. The event kicked off right on time and we watched the trusses of the bridge change colour. We stood and watched…and waited…and watched…the span of the bridge changed a few more colours and then it all stopped. “I think that’s it,” said Lou. “Not exactly what it said on the box,” I said. Where was the journey through the Pacific? I was expecting laser lights projecting imagery that told a story or at least something a little more than some lights that changed colour. Oh well, we came, we saw it and maybe we just didn’t get it! 

We did our late night walk back to our hotel, trudging up the hills after a long day. There are quite a few hills in Auckland and each one gives the legs a good workout. Time difference or not, I had the feeling I would sleep pretty darn well tonight after a full day of roaming. We were off and running on our visit to the neighbours across the water and are all set for what the north island of New Zealand has to offer. Boooo to the long standing Australian-New Zealand rivalry, we’re reading to embrace our Kiwi cousins and everything they have to show us. Off we go!