New Zealand: Heading Home

Our last morning in New Zealand was one we had wanted to explore as much possible before heading to the airport.  The night before we had been recommended to visit Glenorchy, which is located on the northern end of the lake. It was a 45 minute drive (or sleeping in Ashley's case), so we were up before dawn in hopes of catching the sunrise.  Unfortunately, it amounted to little as it was raining when we arrived in Glenorchy.  So after 30 minutes of waiting for a break in the rain that wasn't coming we decided to head back to Queenstown.

On the way back the rain clouds slowly cleared the closer we got to Queenstown. This provided some opportunities to look back and truly appreciate the scenery along the drive. It's considered by some as the most scenic drive in New Zealand.

Getting back into Queenstown earlier than expected allowed us to walk through town one more time.   We enjoyed a large breakfast at the Post Office Cafe before checking out and heading to the airport to begin our series of long flights home.

For a town of 10,000, the airport was of a decent size with approximately 10 gates and several souvenir stores for last minute browsing before tourists took off.  It's not often we have to walk outside to board a plane in the US, but that's exactly what we had to do in Queenstown.  It also gave us one last view of the surrounding mountains before take off.

This was an Air New Zealand flight and due to Middle Earth pride their safety video was Hobbit themed.  Literally every passenger was paying attention, so they must be doing something right.

The takeoff feels very steep as the plane tries to quickly rise above the mountains around Queenstown.  We were soon cruising over the Southern Alps, making our choice for a window seat well worth it.

We also caught Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe, and Mt. Ruahepu as we flew over the north island.  It was exciting (and sad) to see some of the sites we had visited on our trip from the air, knowing that we had great experiences only a few days or weeks prior.

Before we knew it the plane had landed in Auckland and now there was time to kill before our flight to San Francisco.  We chose to walk from the domestic Air New Zealand terminal to the international terminal, but passed on the photo opportunity with a Lord of the Rings statue before heading through customs.

The remaining flights were uneventful, though it was a fun experience to land in San Francisco earlier in the day than when we took off due to passing the International Date Line.  After nearly 18 hours of time in the air, it was good to be home.  

Now we just need more time to reflect on our amazing month of travel.