January 21, 2026
After months of anticipation, preparation and planning, the big trip to New Zealand was finally underway! It came down to the wire with packing and closing up the house, but Heinrich and I were ready when the Lyft driver showed up at our house to take us to the airport at 2:45 pm.
Check in at the airport was fast and uneventful. Our first flight from Denver to San Francisco was on time. Then we had almost 4 hours to kill before the flight to Christchurch. Due to construction in the terminal, the walk to our gate in the international terminal involved a long detour. It was almost a mile of walking, so we got our exercise for the day.
Heinrich had Priority Pass privileges on his credit card which gave us a discounted price at the Mustards Grill located near our gate. We killed at least an hour at the restaurant. I ordered the lamb burger to get in the New Zealand mood. It was quite tasty and filling.
After eating we still had an hour to kill, so we found a relatively quiet spot on an upper level above our gate area, and we both worked on our computers and cell phones.
United Airlines gave us priority boarding for both flights, which was a bit of a surprise. I guess the United Gateway credit card came in handy.
We had standard seating for the flight, which was 14 hours and 7 minutes from departure to arrival. The flight path went directly over American Samoa and Tonga. We hoped to fly along the east coast of both the North and South Islands of New Zealand, but unfortunately the flight plan flew us along the western coast, so we didn't see much of the country since we were seated on the right side of the plane. The flight itself experienced quite a few short periods of turbulence where we were asked to buckle in our seats. Otherwise I was able to sleep quite a bit, so I wasn't horribly jet lagged or tired upon arrival.
We were served 2 meals and a snack on the plane. I thought the food was okay: nothing to write home about, but it was filling. I do wish they had served us more liquid. I ended up drinking all of the water I had brought with me. I should have filled a second canteen with water.