The Long Day's Journey Into Night (In Toronto)
This will be the longest post of this trip, because without a doubt, Friday was the longest day of our lives.
We arose around 10:00 in our crappy, but expensive hotel room in Auckland and spent some time getting ready for the flight home. We re-packed, yet again, our carry-on bag and the laptop backpack. After checking out, I sat in the hotel lobby using the Wireless connection there to update the blog while Debbie went out to explore some of the neighbourhood shops.
Once done these chores, we went out for a traditional Kiwi lunch as our final meal in NZ, but failing to come up with what that might be, we settled on Mexican. The restaurant is located on the second floor of a street-level shopping strip on a very steep hill near the Sky Tower. We sat with everyone else out on the rickety looking deck that overhangs the sidewalk and had a very enjoyable meal. Given that we still had several hours before our 7:30 pm flight, we decided to take a short drive across to the west coast to see one of the many beaches located there.
On the way back to the hotel to pick up our car, I took some scenic pictures to save you from having to visit the Sky Tower if you ever visit Auckland. Here is the Sky Tower from below.
In the hotel lobby, they have a three story wood carving that is quite impressive. Here it is
Note also in this picture the three story waterwall on the wall just to the left of the carving. I, of course, was immediately interested in how the carving was put together, and went underneath to have a look. It seems to be made of 2X6 planks laminated together, and bolted securely to some fairly hefty steel infrastructure.
We set off with some relatively coarse maps, but a lot of confidence, and after an hour's journey on a combination of 4 lane highways and some of the narrowest twistiest two lane blacktop we have encountered, we ended up at Bethel's beach.
The day had become heavily overcast threatening rain at any moment. There is a small sand covered parking lot with a walkway leading out towards the beach.
There are a number of signs posted on the way to the beach, some asking you not to walk on the sand dunes so as to allow the vegetation a chance to grow, some asking you to keep an eye out for some sort of endangered bird, and one notifying you about the Quicksand.
The problem with the Quicksand sign was that it wasn't very specific about where one might actually encounter the Quicksand. We decided that since this was a public beach, there wasn't much likelihood of encountering it if we stayed to the main paths, and there were, in fact, a few other hardy souls in the area, so we soldiered onwards.
The wind had picked up considerably by this time and the path from the parking lot to the beach led out to a wider path of sand that stretched perpendicular to the ocean. The wind howled down this natural channel and as it went it picked up the tiny black sand particles and flung them at you. Debbie bundled herself up as well as possible to face the elements.
Once we reached the ocean beach proper, the trek became completely worth it. The wind was whipping the ocean into a frenzy, and the waves crashing on the beach created a mist that gave a surreal look to the distant rock formations.
There is a piece of the shore that has been cut free by the relentless waves and tides, and several people were on the other side of the chasm apparently fishing, although to be honest I can't imagine how anyone could cast into that wind.
We spent a while enjoying the scenery and then made the significantly easier downwind walk back to the parking area. The drive out from Bethel's Beach was uneventful, although the roads were no less narrow or winding. We got stuck behind a School Bus for much of the trip out, and Debbie tried to capture the sense of the roads.
Note how the bus is pretty much as wide as the road. The bus had dual rear wheels, and at every turn, the driver dropped the outer wheel into the ditch while the inner wheel kept the bus out of the chasms below.
This, unfortunately, is where our well scheduled day started to unravel. As dedicated readers of this blog might remember, Auckland is a city totally bereft of planning or order inasmuch as the city street layout is concerned. The outskirts have not escaped this blight. The other factor compounding our difficulties was the lack of a detailed map. We at one time had had a detailed map, but Debbie in her zeal to reduce the amount of clutter we were bringing back to the New World had disposed of our detailed map, and instead we were left to rely on the tourist map.
We made the best of this, however, and with the confidence that comes from having three and a half hours before our flight, we set out towards the airport. After a half hour of heading in the approximate right direction, we stopped for gas, and at that point asked for directions. We got some vague indications of where to go, and a warning that at rush hour, which was almost upon us, it was going to take us two more hours to get to the airport.
Armed now with this information, and a little less confident, we pressed onward. At some point, the directions we received completely fell off the rails, and we found ourselves heading back into the downtown core - for once I thanked the Sky Tower ... you can see it from quite a ways out. We finally stopped at another gas station and here we invested the critical NZ$4 to buy a map. We did a small backtrack and then made a direct drive towards the airport. Unfortunately, rush hour was now upon us, and we inched along through some sections getting increasingly anxious. Mercifully, we got free of the in-town traffic, and got onto an "express"-way that moved at a better clip, and in time made our way to the rental car drop off and then to the Air NZ checkin counter.
The problem with showing up late for check in is that you are among the last people in line. The labyrinth at the Air NZ counter was pretty full and we spent a full half hour waiting to check in. Then it was off to the security labyrinth and finally to the departure lounge. With 30 minutes before boarding. Two and a half hours since we talked to the helpful gas station guy. Here are two travellers sad to be leaving but relieved to have arrived in time.
We had pre-booked our seats for the outbound flight when we arrived so as to avoid the problems of rude fellow passengers, so we settled into our two abreast seats near the rear of the aircraft with neither of us having neighbours. This turned out to be a terrific choice, and I highly recommend this to anyone travelling on a 747. Check out the seating plan for the flight you are on and look near the rear where the fuselage narrows. There should be a few rows with isolated pairs of seats. Book these!
After takeoff, we were treated to the sight of the inflight entertainment system in our section doing an endless re-boot cycle. In the end they were never able to get the system to work in our section although it worked fine in the front 5/6 of the aircraft. This would have been fine, as Debbie and I had brought books and puzzles to amuse ourselves, but the overhead light is controlled on the same remote control as is used to run the entertainment system, and we were unable to turn on these lights. The result of this is that after the dinner is served, the interior lights of the cabin are dimmed so people can sleep and we had no light to read by.
As a result, we made the best of the situation, and tried to sleep, but in all honesty, sleeping sitting up is not something either Debbie or I do well, and we flopped around a lot but probably only got 4 or 5 hours un-restful sleep out of the 8 hours of darkness. To add to the distractions, the LCD screens on the seatbacks in front of us would flash white and stay on for 30 seconds or so on about a 3 minute cycle. I eventually hung a blanket to cover them up.
Early in the flight, the flight attendant told us we would be given a voucher to compensate us for the inconvenience. I pictured something we could use for food or drink in the airport or perhaps in the Duty Free. The voucher turned out to be an Air New Zealand voucher worth NZ$60 each to be used within one year for another flight. This, as you might imagine, is not very helpful for people living in Toronto. We gave ours away to someone who said they would be able to use it.
We got to L.A. at around 10:00 am local time, and then had to go through the retarded US security system. First we had to wait in line to go through US immigration. Being situated at the back of the aircraft (one down side) we were pretty much the last off, and thus near to last in the immigration lineup. Of course the ladies in charge of keeping the lines moving kept taking people out of the back of the line to fill up the shorter lines, until we were literally the very last people on our flight to step up the counter. The immigration officer asked us what we did for a living, and after he discovered Debbie was a Paralegal, he started asking her more probing questions. We became quite nervous until it became clear that his brother had suffered an at-work accident in Brampton, and he was looking for a good lawyer on his behalf.
After the immigration line, we then waited at the luggage carousel for our luggage to arrive. We then had to haul it all outside, around the building, up an escalator, and then wait in line at the Air Canada desk to re-check it. Once the luggage was cleared, we then got into the even longer line to go once again through airport security, this time the American Homeland Security version (does the name "Homeland Security" have the flavour of every totalitarian regime you've ever heard of?)
In standard Don luck, we watched the line-managing lady take people out from behind us into the shorter lines, and in all we spent almost 40 minutes in this line. Then we had to take off our shoes, unpack the laptop into a separate bin, load all our stuff into bins, pass without a trace through the metal detecting arch, and then re-assemble our carefully constructed travelling ensembles. They didn't even ask me to turn either the laptop or the digital camera on. How useless is that?
In all it took over 2 hours from the time we got off the 747 until we were in the departure lounge waiting for our next flight. Keep in mind we had already passed airport security in Auckland, we weren't staying in the US so the immigration check was a waste, and our luggage wasn't staying either. A total waste of effort on everyone's part. All they need is to have the luggage transferred (isn't this standard practice? What the hell is wrong with Air NZ?) and an escalator up from the secure arrivals area to the secure departures area.
Here are two tired travellers decompressing from their security ordeals.
Astute observers will notice that this is the same bar we sat at on Superbowl Sunday on our way out. We ate a bar pizza to avoid having to eat the pay-as-you-go Air Canada food. On principle. Cheap #$&*'s.
The flight to Toronto was uneventful and the passage through Canadian immigration and customs was quick and painless. We caught a cab and were safely home by 10:30. We fished out our winter gear (bah!) and drove out to the neighbourhood wing joint for a (very) late dinner. We savoured two things you can get in Toronto that you can't get in NZ: any food whatsoever after 9:00 pm and nummy nummy chicken wings.
All in all, it was one long day. Friday started at 10:00 am, we left Auckland at 8:00 pm, we arrived 11 1/2 hours later in L.A. at 10:30 am (still Friday), left 3 hours later, arrived in Toronto 5 hours later at 9:30 pm, and went to sleep at around 1:00 am Saturday (3:30 for Deb). Friday was a 32+ hour day for us.
I'll post a quick update on our fairly painless re-assimilation into the Canadian identity and a few final musings on our too-brief adventure in New Zealand in a day or so.
Until then ...
Don
We arose around 10:00 in our crappy, but expensive hotel room in Auckland and spent some time getting ready for the flight home. We re-packed, yet again, our carry-on bag and the laptop backpack. After checking out, I sat in the hotel lobby using the Wireless connection there to update the blog while Debbie went out to explore some of the neighbourhood shops.
Once done these chores, we went out for a traditional Kiwi lunch as our final meal in NZ, but failing to come up with what that might be, we settled on Mexican. The restaurant is located on the second floor of a street-level shopping strip on a very steep hill near the Sky Tower. We sat with everyone else out on the rickety looking deck that overhangs the sidewalk and had a very enjoyable meal. Given that we still had several hours before our 7:30 pm flight, we decided to take a short drive across to the west coast to see one of the many beaches located there.
On the way back to the hotel to pick up our car, I took some scenic pictures to save you from having to visit the Sky Tower if you ever visit Auckland. Here is the Sky Tower from below.
In the hotel lobby, they have a three story wood carving that is quite impressive. Here it is
Note also in this picture the three story waterwall on the wall just to the left of the carving. I, of course, was immediately interested in how the carving was put together, and went underneath to have a look. It seems to be made of 2X6 planks laminated together, and bolted securely to some fairly hefty steel infrastructure.
We set off with some relatively coarse maps, but a lot of confidence, and after an hour's journey on a combination of 4 lane highways and some of the narrowest twistiest two lane blacktop we have encountered, we ended up at Bethel's beach.
The day had become heavily overcast threatening rain at any moment. There is a small sand covered parking lot with a walkway leading out towards the beach.
There are a number of signs posted on the way to the beach, some asking you not to walk on the sand dunes so as to allow the vegetation a chance to grow, some asking you to keep an eye out for some sort of endangered bird, and one notifying you about the Quicksand.
The problem with the Quicksand sign was that it wasn't very specific about where one might actually encounter the Quicksand. We decided that since this was a public beach, there wasn't much likelihood of encountering it if we stayed to the main paths, and there were, in fact, a few other hardy souls in the area, so we soldiered onwards.
The wind had picked up considerably by this time and the path from the parking lot to the beach led out to a wider path of sand that stretched perpendicular to the ocean. The wind howled down this natural channel and as it went it picked up the tiny black sand particles and flung them at you. Debbie bundled herself up as well as possible to face the elements.
Once we reached the ocean beach proper, the trek became completely worth it. The wind was whipping the ocean into a frenzy, and the waves crashing on the beach created a mist that gave a surreal look to the distant rock formations.
There is a piece of the shore that has been cut free by the relentless waves and tides, and several people were on the other side of the chasm apparently fishing, although to be honest I can't imagine how anyone could cast into that wind.
We spent a while enjoying the scenery and then made the significantly easier downwind walk back to the parking area. The drive out from Bethel's Beach was uneventful, although the roads were no less narrow or winding. We got stuck behind a School Bus for much of the trip out, and Debbie tried to capture the sense of the roads.
Note how the bus is pretty much as wide as the road. The bus had dual rear wheels, and at every turn, the driver dropped the outer wheel into the ditch while the inner wheel kept the bus out of the chasms below.
This, unfortunately, is where our well scheduled day started to unravel. As dedicated readers of this blog might remember, Auckland is a city totally bereft of planning or order inasmuch as the city street layout is concerned. The outskirts have not escaped this blight. The other factor compounding our difficulties was the lack of a detailed map. We at one time had had a detailed map, but Debbie in her zeal to reduce the amount of clutter we were bringing back to the New World had disposed of our detailed map, and instead we were left to rely on the tourist map.
We made the best of this, however, and with the confidence that comes from having three and a half hours before our flight, we set out towards the airport. After a half hour of heading in the approximate right direction, we stopped for gas, and at that point asked for directions. We got some vague indications of where to go, and a warning that at rush hour, which was almost upon us, it was going to take us two more hours to get to the airport.
Armed now with this information, and a little less confident, we pressed onward. At some point, the directions we received completely fell off the rails, and we found ourselves heading back into the downtown core - for once I thanked the Sky Tower ... you can see it from quite a ways out. We finally stopped at another gas station and here we invested the critical NZ$4 to buy a map. We did a small backtrack and then made a direct drive towards the airport. Unfortunately, rush hour was now upon us, and we inched along through some sections getting increasingly anxious. Mercifully, we got free of the in-town traffic, and got onto an "express"-way that moved at a better clip, and in time made our way to the rental car drop off and then to the Air NZ checkin counter.
The problem with showing up late for check in is that you are among the last people in line. The labyrinth at the Air NZ counter was pretty full and we spent a full half hour waiting to check in. Then it was off to the security labyrinth and finally to the departure lounge. With 30 minutes before boarding. Two and a half hours since we talked to the helpful gas station guy. Here are two travellers sad to be leaving but relieved to have arrived in time.
We had pre-booked our seats for the outbound flight when we arrived so as to avoid the problems of rude fellow passengers, so we settled into our two abreast seats near the rear of the aircraft with neither of us having neighbours. This turned out to be a terrific choice, and I highly recommend this to anyone travelling on a 747. Check out the seating plan for the flight you are on and look near the rear where the fuselage narrows. There should be a few rows with isolated pairs of seats. Book these!
After takeoff, we were treated to the sight of the inflight entertainment system in our section doing an endless re-boot cycle. In the end they were never able to get the system to work in our section although it worked fine in the front 5/6 of the aircraft. This would have been fine, as Debbie and I had brought books and puzzles to amuse ourselves, but the overhead light is controlled on the same remote control as is used to run the entertainment system, and we were unable to turn on these lights. The result of this is that after the dinner is served, the interior lights of the cabin are dimmed so people can sleep and we had no light to read by.
As a result, we made the best of the situation, and tried to sleep, but in all honesty, sleeping sitting up is not something either Debbie or I do well, and we flopped around a lot but probably only got 4 or 5 hours un-restful sleep out of the 8 hours of darkness. To add to the distractions, the LCD screens on the seatbacks in front of us would flash white and stay on for 30 seconds or so on about a 3 minute cycle. I eventually hung a blanket to cover them up.
Early in the flight, the flight attendant told us we would be given a voucher to compensate us for the inconvenience. I pictured something we could use for food or drink in the airport or perhaps in the Duty Free. The voucher turned out to be an Air New Zealand voucher worth NZ$60 each to be used within one year for another flight. This, as you might imagine, is not very helpful for people living in Toronto. We gave ours away to someone who said they would be able to use it.
We got to L.A. at around 10:00 am local time, and then had to go through the retarded US security system. First we had to wait in line to go through US immigration. Being situated at the back of the aircraft (one down side) we were pretty much the last off, and thus near to last in the immigration lineup. Of course the ladies in charge of keeping the lines moving kept taking people out of the back of the line to fill up the shorter lines, until we were literally the very last people on our flight to step up the counter. The immigration officer asked us what we did for a living, and after he discovered Debbie was a Paralegal, he started asking her more probing questions. We became quite nervous until it became clear that his brother had suffered an at-work accident in Brampton, and he was looking for a good lawyer on his behalf.
After the immigration line, we then waited at the luggage carousel for our luggage to arrive. We then had to haul it all outside, around the building, up an escalator, and then wait in line at the Air Canada desk to re-check it. Once the luggage was cleared, we then got into the even longer line to go once again through airport security, this time the American Homeland Security version (does the name "Homeland Security" have the flavour of every totalitarian regime you've ever heard of?)
In standard Don luck, we watched the line-managing lady take people out from behind us into the shorter lines, and in all we spent almost 40 minutes in this line. Then we had to take off our shoes, unpack the laptop into a separate bin, load all our stuff into bins, pass without a trace through the metal detecting arch, and then re-assemble our carefully constructed travelling ensembles. They didn't even ask me to turn either the laptop or the digital camera on. How useless is that?
In all it took over 2 hours from the time we got off the 747 until we were in the departure lounge waiting for our next flight. Keep in mind we had already passed airport security in Auckland, we weren't staying in the US so the immigration check was a waste, and our luggage wasn't staying either. A total waste of effort on everyone's part. All they need is to have the luggage transferred (isn't this standard practice? What the hell is wrong with Air NZ?) and an escalator up from the secure arrivals area to the secure departures area.
Here are two tired travellers decompressing from their security ordeals.
Astute observers will notice that this is the same bar we sat at on Superbowl Sunday on our way out. We ate a bar pizza to avoid having to eat the pay-as-you-go Air Canada food. On principle. Cheap #$&*'s.
The flight to Toronto was uneventful and the passage through Canadian immigration and customs was quick and painless. We caught a cab and were safely home by 10:30. We fished out our winter gear (bah!) and drove out to the neighbourhood wing joint for a (very) late dinner. We savoured two things you can get in Toronto that you can't get in NZ: any food whatsoever after 9:00 pm and nummy nummy chicken wings.
All in all, it was one long day. Friday started at 10:00 am, we left Auckland at 8:00 pm, we arrived 11 1/2 hours later in L.A. at 10:30 am (still Friday), left 3 hours later, arrived in Toronto 5 hours later at 9:30 pm, and went to sleep at around 1:00 am Saturday (3:30 for Deb). Friday was a 32+ hour day for us.
I'll post a quick update on our fairly painless re-assimilation into the Canadian identity and a few final musings on our too-brief adventure in New Zealand in a day or so.
Until then ...
Don
posted by Don at
6:39 pm
3 Comments:
Heh. The day after you flew out of LA, I flew in. The bar you're sitting at looks like Fuddruckers.
They didn't even ask me to turn either the laptop or the digital camera on.
My understanding is that they don't need to any more because they have improved nitrate sniffers. What puzzles me is that every now and then they still do ask someone to turn an item on. Maybe they just don't like those people.
By
Anonymous, at 2:48 am
I thought the place at LAX was called Wolfgang Puck, but you could be correct.
wrt sniffers, in Toronto they took a swab of the outside of the camera and fed it into some machine presumably looking for explosives residue. The laptop escaped that routine, however.
This would imply that in Toronto, at least, they don't have sensitive enough sniffers without taking a direct measurement. I wouldn't be surprised if the Americans don't have any sniffers sensitive enough either, they just pretend they do.
By
Anonymous, at 12:36 am
No, you're right, it is Wolfgang Puck.
They used to always swab my laptop in Vancouver, but they no longer do. I've been assuming improved tech, but perhaps it's just that the whole post-9/11-security thing is now considered passe.
By
Anonymous, at 2:06 am
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