Tiff & Jared's adventures

If you’re planning to travel to Kiwi land, think long and hard about how mentally strong you are when flying. It’s no joke. I’m starting this blog between the 2nd and 3rd (last) flight to Christchurch.

We started the adventure on 4pm on a Saturday and flew to LA, where we caught our lovely red eye to Sydney, Australia.

Two lessons learned so far by this point in the trip:

1. APPLY FOR YOUR AUSTRALIA VISA IN ADVANCE. Luckily we are pro trip planners and of course did this but the unlucky souls at LAX trying to fly into Australia had to pay $40 bucks for a temporary visa. If you plan on entering the country during your layover, it’s imperative you get the Subclass 771 visa.

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/transit-771

Those suckers sure were right about their border security. For a five hour venture into the city, we spent an hour each filling out the visas. Oh well, totally worth it – I’ll get there.

Lesson #2: DO NOT EXCHANGE YOUR CURRENCY AT THE AIRPORT. Yes we were tired and yes it was convenient and yes we lost more money in the exchange than we should have. If going abroad, I would advise checking with your local bank.

The fourteen hour flight from LAX to SYD was surprisingly not bad. The flight left the States at 11pm (2am eastern time) so it was easy enough for us to pass out for a few hours. By the time the GD plane finally landed, it was around 10 am in Australia and we were ready to zombie-ly hit the city.

The transit train took us from the airport and into the Sydney Harbor (Circular Quay stop) at a rate of $50 USD for the two of us. We hopped off the train and found ourselves right in the heart of the harbor. Walking by waterfront restaurants and a LOT of hangry and persistent seagulls/pigeons/other aviary creatures, we turned the corner and stumbled upon the Sydney Opera House. It was massive and weirdly geometrically beautiful and in need of a power wash. We tried to walk around the inside but one has to be part of a group tour to get all the group access. We just had access to the gift shop and lobby unfortunately. However, the views all around the structure were wonderful.

After all the pictures, we started walking around the restaurant/residential side of the city. We saw a bunch of parks, some weird-looking birds and a nature reserve called Barangaroo.

We also spent a decent amount of time walking around – with all our carryon stuff – looking for a place to eat lunch as our eating habits have been sporadic at best the last few days. From the golden rays of Heaven shined the Lord Nelson brewery. Could it be?! A reasonably-priced, historic brewery with flights?! We were sold.

Hunger and fatigue already set in, we decided on a flight of four beers and a delicious prawn and chorizo-topped pizza. Indulgence at its best. Another cool treat, there is no tipping in Australia (or at least I’m saying this from the one restaurant experience we had here). We paid for the meal beforehand and there was no separate line for tax which was a real treat. To walk off all the grease, we walked around the city a bit more then caught the train back to the airport. We are currently waiting for our last leg of the trip to NZ and I will update once we arrive.

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Update: we arrived in Christchurch 2am on Tuesday. As if twenty-four hours of flight wasn’t enough, my checked bag got lost somewhere in the transition. 😦 fingers crossed for a safe return! As for now, we’re settling in to our routines. We’ve done our grocery shopping (found some Nando’s hot sauce!) and went to some consignment stores for blankets. It’s not quite summer yet here and it’s a bit chillier than we expected. Hopefully the next blog we’ll be in Akaroa or Dunedin!