AUCKLAND to WELLINGTON (AKL-WLG) on Air New Zealand 737-300 in economy class space+ seat with koru hour

I raced to immigration, went through quickly thanks to smartgate and rushed off to customs. There was a bit of a queue in the NZ & Australians nothing to declare lane but it was moving fast. I opted to remain in this line rather than switching to the priority arrivals lane. My reasoning was in the priority lane I'd be stuck behind several cabin crew and the lane opens out to a single x-ray machine. The lane I'm in has 3 x-ray machines, and there is a chance of bypassing if directed by the customs officer. And so it turned out - a bit more time queueing but then a quicker exit. I did my usual trick of turning right immediately landside so as to avoid the throng of people greeting their friends and families. This saves more valuable seconds.

I rushed out to the bus stop in case an inter-terminal bus was about to leave. No sign of it and I don't want to wait up to 20 minutes for the next one so I rush across to the domestic terminal. No queue at security and so I'm airside in the lounge a mere 15 minutes after arriving at pier B international. Not bad at all - normally it takes 30-60 minutes on a good day. Although I'm now in need of a deep breath of relief and a refreshing drink in the few moments before boarding is due. It is days like this that Air NZ's auto check in at time of booking (for domestic flights) pays dividends - as long as you are at the gate before doors close you can go on the flight, none of this check in cut off 30 or 60 minutes prior to departure.

There was a short delay in boarding. After all that rushing to make the flight I could have gone a little slower. Oh well at least I made the flight which was looking unlikely. When the flight was announced the gate for the Christchurch flight was given in error. Then the same mistake was repeated a minute later. At least I hoped it was an error and made a point of double checking at the gate just in case.

The flight was full, as expected for late afternoon on the busiest route in the country. This was a koru hour service, thus newspapers are offered onboard and the usual snack and drink selection of water, tea, coffee, casava crisps, biscuit, and fruit jelly pieces; are replaced with wine (brancott sauvignon blanc or chardonnay, or some other winery merlot*), L&P, water, casava crisps, 2 pieces of cheese + 2 crackers + 2 grapes, and bagel bites + hummus dip. The passenger next to me complained about the lack of hot drinks. I offered to take his wine

I did a bit of reading to catch up on news while I was away but stopped once we reached Mt Taranaki as skies cleared affording fine views of the mountain, Cook Strait, Farewell Spit, Tasman Bay & D'Urville Island, the Marlborough Sounds and the Kaikoura & Richmond Ranges. Ahhh I never tire of this fine view.

We made up some time en route.

Since we landed a few minutes late I ambled out to the bus (no point rushing as I'd just missed one).

*sorry I didn't make a note of the winery.