Day 1 - Wellington to Hong Kong… via a very early start!

Well… after months of planning it was finally departure day!

The only downside? The alarm went off at 3am. That should be illegal.

Lia and I were at Wellington Airport by about 4am ready for our first flight up to Auckland. I’d been looking forward to starting the holiday in the Air New Zealand lounge, but thanks to the fire earlier in the month the domestic lounge was closed. The regional lounge was open instead… just not until 6:30am.

Our flight left at 6am.

So much for breakfast in the Wellington lounge!

The flight to Auckland was pretty uneventful. I put my audiobook on and was asleep within minutes. Typical. I’ll have to rewind a chapter because I have absolutely no idea where I got up to.

Once we landed we jumped on the transfer bus over to the international terminal. Security was surprisingly quick, and after rescuing my camera and SD cards from the collection point, we grabbed a quick breakfast before heading for the lounge.

I also made sure I picked up my traditional airport Red Bull. Some travel traditions are worth keeping!

Before long it was time to board NZ81 to Hong Kong. This was where Lia disappeared down the Economy aisle while I turned left into Business Class. I always feel a little guilty… but I’ll admit it didn’t last long once the welcome drink arrived.

I started the flight with a Mango Margarita and I have to say… it was really good!

One of my favourite things about long-haul flights is finally unpacking my little travel setup. Out came the Traveller’s Notebook, fountain pens and stickers while we climbed out of Auckland.

Lunch wasn’t long after take-off, followed by a few hours of journalling before the crew made my bed up. I wasn’t sure I’d actually sleep on a daytime flight but managed a really decent few hours, waking up just in time for dinner before we landed in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong was a bit more confusing than I remembered. Lia and I somehow managed to walk around in circles before finally finding the transfer security and eventually the Cathay Lounge.

Unfortunately they wouldn’t let Lia into the lounge with me, so it was time to say goodbye until Amsterdam.

I have to admit, I’m still not completely sold on the Cathay Lounge. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by Singapore Airlines over the years, but it just doesn’t quite do it for me. I did enjoy finally having a shower though, and found a quiet spot to sit, journal and watch the world go by before my next flight.

I also walked past the Montblanc shop…
…and somehow didn’t buy anything!

I’m calling that a holiday achievement.

Before long I met back up with Lia at the gate, got her onboard as early as I could and then settled back into Business Class for the overnight flight to Amsterdam.

Europe… we were finally on our way.