Yeah so… alarm went off at 4:45am 💀. Out the door by 5:20, Metro at Epping 5:40, then train from Central to the airport at 6:10. Honestly? Military-level timing. Straight through security, passport control, speed-ran to the gate and even grabbed breakfast on the way.
Boarding at 8:10, departure 8:55. Perfect right?
Nope. Plot twist. Flight delayed 40 mins. Zero explanation. Classic.
But when we finally got in the air it was actually a really smooth flight and felt pretty quick. Seat was elite — loads of leg room (rare W for economy). Food was decent too, no complaints.
Getting into NZ is kinda intense though. We sorted our ETAs ages ago, all good there, but when you land you have to fill out this super detailed declaration about food, plants, basically anything that could mess with their ecosystem. They take biosecurity very seriously. Then there’s extra checks and even sniffer dogs going through luggage.
Fair enough tbh, makes sense to protect the environment 🌏 but it definitely slows things down, even if you get put in the express lane.
Low-key think we got lucky though. We were out of the airport within an hour, J picked us up, and we made it to our Auckland apartment where we’re staying for a couple nights.
Absolutely shattered after the travel day 😴 but honestly… pretty cool to be in a brand new country.