steveman518

Back again and there-not exactly the title of Bilbo Baggin's Hobbit's Tale, but nonetheless an appropriate title for the trip to New Zealand. In fact, going to New Zealand wasn't really on my radar, since it's generally decently expensive to get to from here in the states and I tend to fly on cheap economy fares when I'm paying cash. However, when a cheap fare to AKL popped up on Cyber Monday that was honored (unlike a similar fare that appeared two months later), I couldn't resist booking a ticket. With round-trips from the west coast starting at $400 and east coast starting at $600, I decided to split the difference and book an open jaw from the east coast and ending on the west coast and combining the trip with my annual Labor Day weekend New York trip. By doing the trip in the early southern Spring I was able to avoid the giant hordes of tourists who make their way during the southern Summer when the weather is more palatable. While the fare was alive I managed to also convince one of my friends to come with me, and with the relatively limited time I booked myself for, we decided to do a quick road trip down the north island from Auckland to Wellington. Thus, the final routing of the trip was:

SEA-EWR/UA Y
EWR-SFO/UA J (PS)
SFO-AKL/NZ Y
WLG-AKL/NZ Y
AKL-SFO/NZ Y
SFO-SEA/UA Y



This is probably the trip I booked the furthest out-booking on Cyber Monday for the following Labor Day weekend meant a long, long wait for the trip, but it eventually did arrive...so join me on a quick detour to New York on this adventure to Hobbiton and a slightly underprepared hike.

samwise6222

I enjoy reading all the fancy F/J TRs but I especially love Y TRs

steveman518

The trip began with a red-eye from SEA to EWR in economy, which was generally a nondescript experience with me basically trying to knock myself out as much as possible for the flight, so we'll pick up the next morning in New York. Generally my trips to New York are pretty relaxed and mostly revolve around seeing the US Open around Labor Day. After arriving, I made my way to the Courtyard Central Park, where a room was ready for me on arrival. However, the room I received had not been cleaned, so another visit to the front desk resulted in a new room and a couple of certificates I could use at the Starbucks on the 4th floor. Overall the room is a typical New York hotel room: pretty small and not particularly complicated.

Room (night view)


After taking a short nap, I started shopping around for US Open tickets, especially since they can be decently cheap if you buy last minute and can be somewhat flexible. In the end I settled on buying day session tickets at Louis Armstrong Stadium for the following day. Since these New York trips generally have no plans and most things just kind of happen on the fly, I walked over to Central Park to get the blood flowing through my legs again. On the way there I passed the Time Square Summer Expo running down Broadway to Time Square. Even though I love eating I didn't take the time to sample any of the food, and it looks like every other block would be a repeat of the previous blocks with the same vendors appearing over and over again.

Setting up


Would you trust $1 Thai food?


In full swing


View from Central Park


At this point it was about time for a late lunch, so I made the pilgrimage over to Di Fara in Brooklyn. I had previously had the opportunity of enjoying their pizza courtesy of jackal the one time I rode along on the Brooklyn Reality Tour in 2015 hosted by dhammer53. Naturally, since it had been over 3 years since my last slice of Di Fara, I had to head back. Since it was already approaching mid-afternoon, there was no wait for a slice so I grabbed 2. I'm not exaggerating when I say that they make the best slice of pizza out there-almost no other slice I've ever had approaches how good Di Fara is.

Storefront


Heaven on a plate


After scarfing down the two slices of pizza, I decided to head over to DeKalb Market, another one of the new fancy food halls. Recently I've been staying away from Smorgasburg due to how packed it is all the time and to go explore more food options in the area. Unfortunately after wandering through the market I left pretty uninspired, like I've seen with so many of these food halls throughout the city. I don't know what it is about these new food halls, but so far in my experience it's been all hype. So far my favorite has been Chelsea Market, but please recommend me something for my next trip!

DeKalb


A Katz's outpost


However what doesn't disappoint is the Brooklyn Heights promenade, which I was also introduced to during the Brooklyn Reality Tour, with its sweeping views over Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge. I've found it to be an excellent place to sit down and take in the sights and to walk down its length overlooking the water. It's always a nice calm place to escape a bit of the hustle and bustle of the city.

Overlooking Manhattan


Down the promenade


Brooklyn Bridge


Afterwards I made my way back to Chinatown to grab dinner at Vanessa's Dumplings. I ordered a good variety of their boiled and pan-fried dumplings to go, since it was relatively crowded inside the restaurant. While I do say that dumplings are pretty good, the vinegar and chili sauce they have for dipping are mediocre. After dinner it was an early evening with plenty of sleep to recover from the red-eye.

Kitchen and lychee smoothie


More kitchen


All the food


The next morning was a quick pastry at the Starbucks before making my way out to Billy Jean National Tennis Center for the US Open. Usually I get tickets to a night session at Arthur Ashe Stadium, but I found a great bargain for the day session at Louis Armstrong Stadium, so I decided to see how it was. At Louis Armstrong the bottom level is reserved seating, while the top level is first come, first served for all other ticket holders. For the reserved section you can get really close to the action at a fraction of the price of Ashe, and since it was only the first weekend of the US Open top players were still playing on Louis Armstrong. I found Louis Armstrong to be a much more intimate experience than Ashe, and with better fans. Ashe tends to get all the people who want to be loud and boisterous, and I find that really off-putting especially when the chair umpire has to ask the crowd to be quiet many times over the course of a match. Perhaps I'm too old school, or perhaps Americans try to turn every sporting event into a spectator sport...
Anyways, the day session involved 4 matches, but the session went so long I skipped the men's double match at the end of the day to grab dinner with a friend. For those of you who are interested, AMEX opened up a mini-Centurion Lounge at Louis Armstrong behind sections 2/3, but better get there early since the waitlist oftentimes closes before noon!

Louis Armstrong Stadium


Kevin Anderson being elegant


Dominic Thiem with his game face


Ashleigh Barty intently focusing


Milos Raonic being an absolute unit out there


Super tall John Isner


The saddest chicken tenders you'll ever see, composed of 80% batter and no larger than my thumb...


To cap off a relatively relaxed New York trip the next morning I got brunch with a friend at Rustic Table, and with that type of name obviously it was going to be a super hip place, as the food illustrates. After brunch it was time to make my way back down to EWR to begin the New Zealand segment of the trip!

Shredded chicken sandwich

Tocsin

Nice start to the TR! Am doing S Island next month

steveman518

After brunch I made my way down to the Hole of Despair also known as Newark Liberty International Airport. As usual the TSAPre line snaked around about 1000 corners to a single ID checker and eventually I made my way through security. I headed over to the United Club by gate C74, and overall it was pretty empty in the early afternoon on Labor Day. The club itself is situated above the concourse and has a circular floor plan, so it could be called the Donut of Despair. The club is generally nondescript and isn't really worth writing home about. There were some snacks and a tortilla soup that tasted so much better if it was 50% soup and 50% cheese cubes. Generally spending more time at EWR than necessary is less than ideal, so I basically only had time for that one cup of soup and cheese before heading to the departure gate. As I was leaving the club was starting to fill up, with a long line to check into the club.

Cheese cubes covered with tortilla soup


UA375
SEA-SFO
Boeing 757-200
1A

Originally I had booked this flight in Y, but I was able to find confirmable upgrade space at booking, which is pretty rare for these premium transcon routes. While this was my first time flying PS, my hopes were not particularly high given that it is still United. The planes we were flying is one of the dedicated UA PS planes with 28J seats. I settled into seat 1A, which I had selected since it its one of the bulkhead seats with larger footwells. I'm not really sure why I went with that reasoning, because I had absolutely zero plans of sleeping on this flight. I was offered a pre-flight beverage and had a glass of water before departure. The menu was already in the literature pocket in the side of the seat.

1A footwell


Soon after an on-time departure the flight attendants came around with drinks and meal orders. The menu is presented as follows:



Start
Chiller Appetizer
Prosciutto, Guyère

Salad
Cabbage, carrot, mango
Served with dressing

Main
Seared beef short rib
Bordelaise, polenta cake, kale with orange marmalade

Grilled chicken breast
Romesco sauce, grits, green beans

Four cheese ravioli
Lemon vinaigrette, red and yellow beets, sautéed leeks

Finish
Signature sundae served with a choice of toppings
A selection of sweet treats and fresh fruit
Cheese and red seedless grapes

Pre-Arrival
A selection of tasty snacks and freshly prepared wraps

Drink Special
On The Rocks The Old Fashioned with a candied orange peel skewer

I selected the chicken as my main, accompanied with a ginger ale.

Ginger ale and mixed nuts


The starter and salad came together on a tray, with the bread basket coming through the cabin shortly thereafter. The starter was mostly forgettable, but I did find the salad to be quite good. It was fresh, and adding a small amount of the dressing was enough to give it some more flavor.

Starter and salad


The chicken main was not forgettable, and in a bad way too. The chicken was smaller maybe the size of a deck of playing cards and incredibly dry. The green beans turned out to be broccolini that was incredibly overcooked, and it took all the sauce just to try to hold everything together and possibly salvage the dish. I was hungry and ate it all, but it was definitely a struggle to get through it.

Chicken main


For dessert I basically asked for almost everything-especially the sundae with all the toppings minus whipped cream. Shout-out to ironmanjt with this sundae clocking in at a massive 3 cherries.

To finish


After the meal service I reclined the seat a bit and watched a couple of movies before preparing for the Flyertalk Fantasy Football draft. This draft may have marked the first occasion where one of the managers actually drafted a team while on the plane. Overall the wifi connection was mostly stable enough and fast enough to keep up with the draft, though there would be brief outages for a minute or two here or there. In the end I took Saquon Barkley with the number 1 overall pick, and have been riding that hype train to relative mediocrity.

Drafting my team while watching Spaceballs


The draft took up much of the remaining flight time, but the snacks and wraps came out closer to arrival. I liked the chocolate covered wine grapes or whatever they are, but the wrap was pretty bland and needed some mustard or mayo or whatever condiment you like on cold sandwiches, or if there was some there needed to be more. After having the snack and drafting my fantasy football team, it was time to arrive in SFO with a brief connection before the flight to AKL. Overall the flight was just ok, with not so great food, but good flight attendants that were generally proactive.

Snack and wraps

steveman518

Thanks for following along! The Y parts will be coming up next!

Thanks for reading! I definitely would love to go back and see the south island when I have some more time.

steveman518

After a short time on the ground it was time for the flight to New Zealand!

NZ 7
SFO-AKL
Boeing 777-200ER
55C

Since we were in the very back of the plane we were able to board the flight right after the elite and premium passengers (so about half the plane). Unfortunately for passengers NZ has already gone 10-across in their Boeing 777s, but the load wasn't particularly heavy. After some seat shuffling, my friend and I were able to get an empty middle seat between us for some more shoulder room.

Obligatory legroom shot (from the return segment)


Shortly after take-off the crew came around with the dinner meal service. I selected the chicken, which came with vegetables and potatoes, an "asian salad", roll, and a cheesecake-like desert. The meal was really bland, so I ended up dumping a fair amount of salt on my meal whereas my friend resorted to taking each fork of food and rubbing it on the butter provided.

Dinner


Butter


Soon after dinner the cabin lights were turned off for the long overnight flight to AKL. I explored the in-flight entertainment for a bit, which had a decent number of movies on it. NZ's IFE system also has a seat chat function, which provided about 2 minutes of entertainment. I continued watching Deadpool 2 before turning in for the night. I managed to nap on and off for a good portion of the flight. Throughout the night the crew would come through the cabin with cups of water. Much excite.

In-seat chat


A couple of hours before arrival the cabin lights came back on for the breakfast service. I went with the fruits, which was less than substantial, but at least tasted decent. The meal was supplemented with a Clif Bar to keep my stomach from rumbling through descent.

Breakfast


After breakfast the cabin was prepared for landing and the crew passed out hard candies through the cabin before an uneventful arrival at about 5:30 AM. Immigration took probably about half an hour to go through, and this has so far marked only the second country (or aviation area, if you count the EU as one immigration/customs area) where I haven't been sent to secondary screening.

Up next: New Zealand!

Seat 2A

Looks like you're off to a good start, Steve. I must say however the picture of that tight seating aboard Air NZ's 777 was pretty scary given the 12 hour flight, as was the paucity of the meal offering. I've had larger First Class appetizers than the combined amount of food pictured there. I couldn't help but compare those pictures to my memories of extensive economy class travel aboard NZ (TE back then) thirty-five years earlier in 1983. I'd purchased a Circle Pacific fare with Air New Zealand and flew everywhere from Australia to Fiji to Rarotonga to Tahiti aboard 747-200Bs and 737-200s. The seating was really comfortable featuring well-padded seats and about 34" pitch. The meals were as good or better than what passes for Business Class today. All that notwithstanding, New Zealand remains a beautiful country which regardless of how you got there will dazzle you with its natural beauty and friendly locals. Have a great trip (if you're still enroute, that is. If you've already returned, I hope you had a great time!)

DanielW

A great time in the Big Apple. I wonder if a Katz pastrami sandwich tastes as good at a food court.

Looking forward to seeing some of NZ.

steveman518

I know I know, how can someone only spend 5 days in New Zealand? Well let's not get into that, and I'll just let all of you silently judge me instead for that. An exercise left for you, the reader, instead.

Anyways, the first day was spent in Auckland, allowing for us to get our feet moving again and eliminate the jet lag before the road trip, because jet lag + driving is generally not an ideal combination. From the airport we took the Skybus into town, checking in at the Quest Auckland Serviced Apartments. Units come with a small kitchenette and balcony, and it's one of the few hotels these days that still has physical keys for the room. Overall the hotel is pretty basic but gets the job done.

Images courtesy Quest Auckland Serviced Apartments: exterior


Room


Dining room


After dropping our stuff off we begin our walking tour through Auckland. First we headed down Queen Street towards Queen's Wharf, eventually making our way from Captain Cook Wharf and walking along the harbor too the fish market.

Shipping container shops at Captain Cook Wharf




Across the bay


Ferry terminal


From the tidal steps


Loaf of bread


Yum


After walking along the Harbor, we decided to head over to the Sky Tower to get a panoramic view of the entire city. The tower was really empty on a Wednesday morning, and there was no wait at all throughout our visit. While it did drizzle a little bit, we could still see a long way. The elevator and the first observation deck have some glass floors where you can look down on the street below.

Street art


Rugby fields at Victoria Park


Sky Tower


First observation deck


Down below


Elevator floor


Across the bay


Looking west


After visiting the tower we were getting a but peckish, so we walked over to Posonby Central to see what was on offer. Posonby Central is a small hip shopping area with all sorts of markets, restaurants, and shops.







We settled on Bird on a Wire (seating pictured above) for lunch. I ordered the Bird on a Waffle, while my friend ordered the hotcakes. The chicken was juicy with crispy skin, and the waffle didn't disappoint. Given how hungry I was, the food went pretty quickly.

Menu


Lunch


Now no longer hungry we walked over to Mount Eden to get another view of the city. Mount Eden is the highest piece of land in Auckland, and contains a giant crater as a result of the last eruption long ago. Mount Eden is also near Eden Park, but unfortunately it was too early in the spring to catch a cricket match there, and our one day didn't coincide with any of the domestic rugby matches either. Mount Eden didn't disappoint though, with more sweeping views of the city.

Mount Eden


Overlooking the city


Terraces


Eden Park


One Tree Hill maybe?


Crater


Friend for scale


After making our way back from Mt Eden we headed back to the waterfront for dinner at Brew on Quay, mostly because I wanted to get some fish and chips and she wanted mashed potatoes. Unfortunately, the fish and chips were probably 80% batter, though at least the plastic syringe vinegar dispenser was cute. The bangers and mash were good, especially the truffle mashed potatoes.

Dinner


After dinner we briefly spent some time on the waterfront before heading over to the grocery store to buy some snacks for the long road trip.

Quay Street


Harbor


Albert Street


From the hotel balcony


Coming up: road trip to Wellington!

steveman518

I definitely had a fantastic time in New Zealand-it's just a shame I couldn't stay longer than I did but I will have to come back again someday. While my sample size of international first is much smaller than yours, I definitely agree that those appetizers can sometimes be more substantial than whole meals in the back of the bus. Thanks for reading and for the NZ/TE tidbits Seat 2A!

Finally got part 1 posted! NZ is definitely one of the more beautiful places I have had the chance to visit. I had a wonderful time in New York, but I haven't even been to the actual Katz's Delicatessen yet, so I'll have to rectify that at some point in the future as well...perhaps you will beat me to it with your extensive travels DanielW

offerendum

steveman518

The next morning it was time to begin the road trip! After a passable continental breakfast at the hotel, we headed over to the Hertz around the corner to pick up our luxury chariot Mazda 3 which would carry us from Auckland to Wellington and began the drive down. I must say that driving on the left side of the road took a minute to get used to, but overall no issues arose throughout the drive. Unfortunately I should say that I was doing all the driving, so there aren't many pictures of the scenic drive, but wow is the drive picturesque.

After a couple of hours our first stop was near Matamata at the Hobbiton movie set. We had initially booked an 11:30 tour but had arrived early and were able to join an earlier tour. The tour takes you from the main office and gift shop to the movie set by bus, which is situated on private farmland, where a guide talks all about the area and mentions specific locations where scenes were filmed. The hobbit houses themselves are of varying heights to accommodate the various scales needed (short hobbits and tall everything else) and are actually empty inside. There is enough stuff near the door for it to seem like someone lives there when looking from the outside, but the interiors of the hobbit homes were actually filmed in a studio in Wellington. The tour lasts about two hours from start to finish and is generally pretty easy to get through as it's a relatively easy walk, even if you aren't particularly familiar with The Lord of The Rings or The Hobbit.

Sheep everywhere


Entrance


West Farthing


Hobbit hole




Garden










While on the tour you are free to take pictures most anywhere, but there is only one hobbit hole where you can go in and pose, so naturally everyone goes and does it. It's probably the only one big enough and with a door that swings wide enough for that to happen.

Friend for scale






Samwise Gamgee's hobbit hole


Green Dragon Inn


The tour ends with a stop at the Green Dragon Inn, where a complimentary beverage is served and food is available for purchase. Shortly afterwards its back on the bus to the main entrance and gift shop.

Inside


Entrance


Heading out


After the tour my friend was craving KFC mashed potatoes of all things, so we stopped by the one in Matamata for a quick lunch. While she had her mashed potatoes I had a sad chicken sandwich.



Chicken sandwich and mashed potatoes


After Hobbiton we had planned to spend the rest of the day in Rotorua, known for its thermal activity. In fact, when we arrived at the Holiday Inn Rotorua, we could see thermal activity from the hotel room, and we could smell the sulfur everywhere.

Holiday Inn Rotorua featuring thermal views


We were nearby the Whakarewarewa thermal village, a residential area on top of some thermal activity where some of the local Māori families live. Visitors can visit during daytime hours to tour the village and sample some of the local culture. The locals rely on the geothermal activity in their daily lives, from using the steam to cook food to using the heated water for their baths. As the last tour of the day, the 4PM tour only tours the village, but gives a glimpse of the local life in the geothermal area.

Thewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao


Village






Cats


Pohutu geyser


After the tour we decided to walk to the other side of town to see what was around. We headed to sulfur point, but aside from some deposits, we weren't exactly sure what we were supposed to be seeing...



Not sure where we're going...




Memorial Monument


Government garden and Rotorua museum


For dinner we headed over to Eat Street, a covered pedestrian street lined with a number of restaurants. We settled on Craft Bar & Kitchen, where I ordered a much better fish & chips and she ordered a sandwich of some sort. At least this time the batter was only on the outside instead of having it be 80% of the meal. We finished dinner with a sticky toffee pudding before accidentally walking into a night market on the way back to the hotel.

Dinner


Pudding


Night market

steveman518

I definitely get a kick out of them, but they're not for everyone

757

Great report and photos so far. I went to New Zealand when I was very young and I don't remember much at all of the trip, but your photos from downtown Auckland brought back some memories.