Sleep is a much sought after commodity and none was to be had the previous evening. Jacob arrived at 4 am announcing that he and Sienna were talking too much and could not sleep in the same room any longer. It was a brave attempt but foolish nonetheless. Krista dragged his mattress to the basement and set him up shortly thereafter and proceeded to go back to bed straight away and snore like the dickens until 630 am. Darren stayed up after 4 and just read a book and worked on the computer. It was going to be a very very long day.
Nicholas was up by 615 and Jacob by 7. We jammed some food into them, packed our bags and loaded Devin’s car and off before 745 – very successful departure. We arrived at the International Airport with plenty of time to buy some duty free gifts and grab a bite to eat. We found the Apple store with Ipad’s to play with to check email and play a few games. We ate a nibble at McDonalds just to tide us over until the flight.
We made our way to gate 61 and boarded 15 minutes later than usual. Our plane belonged to the Emirates Company out of Dubai. It was late in getting there but more than worth the wait. We sat in luxury seating with huge video screen TV's in the economy section. We had premium headsets as well as a selection of over 20 movies to choose from. The boys each received a kids meal within minutes that consisted of 7 courses including spaghetti and meat balls, salad, dessert, water, fancy cutlery, wash clothes, etc. After the meal, the boys each received their own backpack with all sorts of goodies in it including Jacob’s favourite, a yellow sleeping mask with a giant happy face on it. He wore it for the rest of the flight. They also had a ‘dessert box’ with assorted chocolate bars and treats inside it.
Krista ordered the lamb and I ordered the chicken. We both received a 6 course meal with all sorts of extra things like cheese, crackers and a chocolate. We had real metal cutlery as well! Krista got a glass of wine and I had a Budweiser – all included with our flight. This was quite the airline! We all watched a movie and before you know it, three hours had disappeared and we were landing. It clearly was the best flight we had ever been on and were not eager to leave. The kids asked if they could see First Class and were ushered into the palace of seating by one of the stewards. Giant seats that folded down into beds with high sides and a separate ceiling of privacy. A 42” plasma screen with computer keyboard, phone and numerous other amenities. An unending supply of food and alcohol, all for a paltry fee im sure… It was a great way to start off our trip to NZ for sure…
We proceeded through the ramps and walkways of the international airport to Customs. One fascinating thing was the two walls of video screens depicting scenes of oceans and mountains along our walkway. As you walked past, there were scent inducers that emitted a spray to resemble the smell of the scene being displayed. It was pretty neat, but we were on a mission to find a washroom and get through security.
Customs was quick and we made our way out into the lobby where we were met by cousin Nicola to give us some guidance out of the airport and off to cousin Chris’ house where we were to be staying. We wandered around looking for our rental car to no avail and had to call. It seems they were just delivering it so we waited for 5 minutes and it arrived. A Nissan Sunny – 4 door compact with barely enough room for our 4 large suitcases but just fine for our first week here on the south island. We followed Nicci out of the airport and fifteen minutes later we arrived at Chris’ lovely 6 bedroom flat in the northern part of Christchurch. We met Chris and his girlfriend Mikaela and Chris’ son Aston. Aunt Kim was also here waiting and it was great to catch up with her as well. Nicholas and Jacob immediately bonded and they headed outside to try out the trampoline, dart guns and numerous other boy toys on the premises.
Everyone started into the champagne and reminisced about old times and new times and catching up on how everyone’s family was doing. After a couple hours, Kim toodled off home while we sat down to a fantastic supper of pasta and salad. Shortly after supper, Mike, Fiona and Rebecca showed up and we readied ourselves to head out on the town for New Year’s Eve. Rebecca was going to babysit for us so that worked out brilliantly. Chris and Mikaela were off to a house party while Mike, Fiona, Nicola, Krista and I were going to hit a local bar and end up in the Town Centre for fireworks at midnight.
We started at Al’s bar – a local watering hole that had a three piece rock band playing. We grabbed a couple drinks and listened to some 70’s rock music for a couple hours before walking to the city centre with 40000 other people. Many of the buildings in Christchurch were suffering from the 7.1 earthquake that had taken place back in September. Many of the older buildings that weren’t supported properly had begun to crumble away and many had to be knocked down completely. There were many buildings that had metal bracing and supports holding them up while repairs were underway. Many could not be started as they are waiting for the aftershocks to die down before assessing whether they should repair buildings or knock them down. There was a 4.1 aftershock this morning before we arrived. We are hoping to experience a little tremor while we are here but nothing too scary.
We wandered around looking at the giant Anglican Church and other buildings and found a very busy Irish pub to have a drink at while waiting for midnight to arrive. There was a live band but lots of room to stand outside and drink/visit. A girl from NZ named Mindy recognized my Flames Jersey and came over to visit ‘the Canadians’. She had lived in Calgary for 2 years about 3 years ago as a library consultant before moving back to NZ and working in the Antarctic for a year. It was neat to be recognized as a Canadian and nice to have a chat with her. We left shortly before midnight and walked to the core of the city square where a live band was playing on a huge stage with tons of lighting and big sound. We counted down from ten and brought in the New Year with fireworks for ten minutes. New Zealand would be one of the first countries in the world to celebrate New Year’s 2011 so we were very excited! It was unfortunate we couldn’t find any wireless internet to post on Facebook and brag that we were the first to bring in the New Year but would do so tomorrow!
There were many young people out and about and we were repeatedly hugged and handshake with inebriated kiwis wishing us a Happy New Year! We stayed about an hour til the band finished and made our way back to the car and home by after 1am. Nicci stayed up with Krista and waited for Chris/Mikaela to get home but Darren called it a night at 130 – it had been a long day. Great way to start off our trip and the New Year here in Christchurch New Zealand!!
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