Where in the world is Kat Kong?: Flying to New Zealand via Honolulu, visiting Auckland and Devonport

Trip Index

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It seemed so long ago when I booked our award tickets last July but time flew and the big trip was at our doorstep. Since I was redeeming miles, flights were limited and the route wasn't the most direct. We flew from San Francisco (SFO) to Honolulu (HNL), then to Auckland (AKL). At time of booking, the flight from SFO to HNL did not have any business award seats available but all the other longer flights were in business class, so I was okay with sitting in economy. You'd think that the system would be smart enough to automatically put us on a waitlist in case any business award seats opened up for the SFO-HNL leg (since I redeemed award miles for business class for the entire itinerary) but of course it wasn't so, and I had to call United reservations to be placed on the waiting list. After doing so, a notation of "I class requested" ("I" meaning "business award") for that flight showed up when I checked my account online.

When I booked the flight, my status with United was "Premier Silver" so I was unable to select any Economy Plus (E+) seats for the SFO-HNL leg until 24 hours before departure. Fortunately in January, United decided to offer me a free bump-up in status to "Premier Gold" until May 31, so I was able to select E+ seats immediately; at least we'd have a little more space if we didn't get off the waitlist. I learned from reading the United Flyertalk forum that sometimes award or upgrade seats open up but it doesn't automatically clear people on the waitlist. I did a dummy booking almost every day to check for "I" seats (here is a tutorial on how to see fare classes on United.com). One day it finally changed from "I0" (no seats) to "I2" (2 available) but I was still waitlisted. I immediately called United reservations and asked the phone agent to check my waitlist status. He told me that it hadn't changed, and I asked him if he could check to see if there were any seats available anyway. He didn't sound enthused about it, but as he checked, he exclaimed "Ah! There are seats!" and he wondered aloud why my request hadn't cleared automatically. It's possible that I may have leapfrogged people ahead of me on the waitlist. Perseverance paid off!

After weighing the pros and cons of parking the car in long-term versus asking for a ride or ordering an airport shuttle, it made sense to rent a car one-way from home to San Francisco International. It took longer than I thought to return the car and take the AirTrain to Terminal 3 so by the time we arrived at the gate for flight UA 73, they were already announcing pre-boarding. I suppose technically we were right on time!

left side of 2-1-2 BusinessFirst cabin configuration

AC power and noise canceling headphones

lots of space to stretch out

you can adjust your seat many ways

a 9-pin S-Video socket

post-departure snacks

We were offered a pre-departure beverage of our choice while the plane was loading up. Once we were in the air, the flight attendants delivered ramekins of warm nuts, took another beverage order as well as our dinner order. The entree choices were either filet mignon or pasta primavera. I suspected that since we were flying on awards, that we would have last pick of meals and it was confirmed when the flight attendant asked if pasta was okay for us. She did offer to check the crew meals to see if there was anything we might want from there, but we didn't want to take their food, especially if we didn't have any allergies to the meal offered. I was pleasantly surprised to find fresh spinach on the pasta and it tasted fine. The flight attendants rolled out an ice cream sundae cart for dessert, with your choice of toppings...yum!

a decent meal

ice cream at 30,000 feet

Even though we had lie-flat seats, we didn't try it out. Kaleb and I spent the flight catching up on movies released a few months ago.

We landed in Honolulu and had about a 3 hour layover. Our next flight was on Air New Zealand (NZ 9), and business class passengers got access to Japan Air Lines' Sakura Lounge, with free wi-fi and some substantial snacks.

that day's wi-fi access info

cold beverages

all you can pour

hot soup, fresh fruit and sandwiches

The business class seats on this Air New Zealand flight were just recliners and did not fold down a full 180 degrees, but it was still more comfortable than sitting in coach.

recliner-style seats with adjustable personal TV screens in between

the lemon slice is a nice touch

The purser visited each passenger in the business cabin, delivering a personal welcome, which was a nice gesture. The amenity kit was very hip with purple striped socks and fun eye mask.

contents of amenity kit

Even though our flight was a red-eye (10pm departure), we were still served a full dinner.

NZ9 supper menu

beverage choices

seared ahi tuna, bread, even a little bottle of olive oil for dipping

mahi mahi

braised beef

cheesecake with pineapple sauce

After dinner, the cabin lights dimmed and we settled into our seats to get some sleep. The earplugs included in the amenity kit helped but it was hard to sleep sitting up. That was probably why we were able to get business award seats on this flight, versus one with a lie-flat seat.

I was able to get a few hours of shut-eye. When I woke up, most of the cabin was still asleep, with one or two people watching their entertainment system or working on their laptop. The flight attendant noticed I was awake and offered me a beverage and snack. An hour later, the lights turned on and breakfast service commenced.

cup of hot tea and cookie

mango banana smoothie

breakfast menu

first course of fruit and pastry (the croissant was very stale)

omelette with Portuguese sausage

When we arrived in Auckland, there was no problem going through passport control. As New Zealand is strict regarding biological products coming into the country, we had to declare all the food that we brought as well as have our hiking boots inspected. We told the agent that we were carrying freeze-dried backpacking food and instant noodles and all he said was "that's fine" without even looking inside our luggage! The hiking boots he was more careful about, checking the soles for any dirt clumps, and even throwing out a bit of debris that was at the bottom of the bag I used to carry my shoes. Afterwards, all of our luggage and carry-ons had to go through an X-ray machine, probably looking for agricultural items, so even though our food wasn't searched by hand, the machine presumably would catch illegal items.

Once we finished inspection, we exited the secure area, and our transfer was waiting for us, holding up a sign with my name on it. He introduced himself as "Uncle" and we found out that was his actual name! (he changed it due to Asian customers calling him "uncle" as a term of endearment) He waited for us while we got a SIM card from one of the vendors at the airport; Uncle seemed to know everyone working at the shops there. (The SIM card helped a lot during our stay in NZ, being able to call and access data for a mere $35. If you have an unlocked phone, I highly recommend getting a SIM card if you are traveling on your own in NZ.) Afterwards, Uncle drove us from the airport to our lodging for the night, the Waldorf Stadium Apartments. During the 40 minute ride, we had a nice conversation about Auckland, rugby and Uncle's business. He showed us around the area, pointed out the nearest grocery store to our lodging, and walked us and our luggage all the way into the lobby. We were so happy with the service Uncle provided that we gave him a tip, even though tipping is not customary in New Zealand, and he refused at first, but we insisted, so he accepted it with a big smile and hugged us. If you need transfer services in New Zealand, please don't hesitate to contact Uncle Harding. I didn't get a business card from him and it was hard to locate any contact information on the internet, but I did find an email and phone: uncleharding@xtra.co.nz, mobile 027 4847 158.

The Waldorf Stadium Apartments had a good location, within walking distance of Queen Street and the Ferry Terminal. I hoped that we would be able to check in despite arriving at 9am, and fortunately, a room was available! We got a complimentary upgrade to an executive 1-bedroom apartment (number 910). The accommodations were nicer than I expected for the price, with a full kitchen as well as washer/dryer. The refrigerator came with a little bottle of milk. (eventually we find that every motel offered milk!)

the exterior

living room

separate bedroom

kitchen

separate recycling bins

bathroom

washer/dryer

toiletries

ever heard of a "natural" shower cap?

small dining room

separate office

balcony

fancy coffee machine

large selection of teas and coffees

power outlets had their own "off" button

We took a little nap, then ventured out to see a bit of Auckland and grab some lunch. Kaleb was having problems activating the SIM card and the wi-fi was not free at the apartment, so we went in search of some internet, finding a McDonald's at the end of Queen Street that had the slowest wi-fi ever. Eventually Kaleb was able to get online and get the phone working; in the meantime, we tried one of their entrees called the Georgie Pie, which was essentially a "pasty" (British comfort food).

like a hand-held pot pie

We walked to the Ferry Building to get more information regarding the hop-on-hop-off (HOHO) bus and tours. There was a HOHO bus but it didn't look interesting to us. We found a short tour to Devonport, so we signed up for the next available and grabbed some Pride and Joy ice cream to pass the time.

fun flavors

passionfruit and super chocolate

We boarded the ferry and enjoyed a short cruise over to Devonport.

on the top deck of the ferry

say bye to the Ferry Building

other boats in the harbor

Devonport ahead

We then got on a small tour bus along with a few other tourists from Australia. The bus driver was also our tour guide, taking us around town, stopping by vista points, old bunkers, and a quaint downtown. He talked about the homes in the area, and they weren't cheap. Lorde the pop star grew up here, though her song "Royals" alludes to a more humble background.

fortification

Rangitoto volcano island

relief map of the bay

Auckland in the distance

cool glass art by Peter Raos

We took the ferry back, walked to the Sky Tower and ate at a restaurant across the street called "Depot". The food there was so delicious...I still think about those fresh oysters. Too bad they ran out of fresh raw clams that evening! We ended up ordering way too much food, but I wanted to try everything.

people were bungying off the Sky Tower as we ate

Kaleb's personal pitcher of beer

lime and bitters for me

fresh Bluff oysters

fall-off-the-bone succulent lamb ribs

piping hot bite-sized turbot sliders - the fish was fresh off the grill

rich bone marrow

Our stomachs achingly full, we walked back to the Waldorf, stopping by a Countdown grocery store along the way to pick up bread, snacks and fruit. The prices were okay, not cheap but not a rip-off either.

This was a nice start to our trip to New Zealand. I didn't have a lot of jet lag because the time difference was technically just 5 hours (as we lost a whole day). We missed out on Daylight Savings Time as well!

Tomorrow, we tackle driving on the left side of the road, heading to Tongariro National Park. Stay tuned!

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