Air New Zealand has released their newest inflight safety video titled “A Fantastical Journey”, starring Katie Holmes (“The Gift”, “Dawson’s Creek”) & Cuba Gooding Jr (“The People vs. OJ Simpson”, “Jerry Maguire”). It also features music from New Zealand’s Gin Wigmore. The video has an “Alice In Wonderland” theme. Like previous inflight safety videos from […]
My roundabout journey from San Francisco to New Zealand was nearly complete. All I had left was a flight back across much of the Pacific from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland. Thanks to my generous award ticket routing, I flew on Malaysia Airlines in Business Class on their Airbus A330-300. When I tried to check in […]
Once or twice a year, Air New Zealand refreshes their inflight safety video. Usually these videos relate to New Zealand’s culture & include several Kiwi celebrities. Their newest video is no different. The video is called “Summer of Safety”, and it features celebrities including Jayden Daniels, supermodel Rachel Hunter, actor Joe Naufahu from Game of Thrones, […]
In December 2015 – January 2016, I embarked on an epic trip around much of the Pacific Rim. I started in San Francisco, then went to Kuala Lumpur, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Osaka before heading home. My trip was all on a single award booking. I booked the trip as my final booking using USAirways […]
It’s a been a while since Air New Zealand has released a new inflight safety video. The airline is famous for their creative videos that usually feature celebrities & different themes. The theme of this new inflight safety video is “Safety In Hollywood”, and it stars New Zealand’s own Rhys Darby, along with Anna Faris. […]
My two weeks in New Zealand were finished, and I was sad to be leaving. It was time to begin my long return journey home, again through Kuala Lumpur on Malaysia Airlines. Since I was flying in business class, I had access to the Malaysia Airlines Emperor Lounge before my flight. Had I not been […]
I closed out my trip to New Zealand with a trip to Auckland. While Auckland might not quite have the craft beer scene that Wellington does (though I imagine they’d like to make an argument about it as the two cities often do), that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some great craft beer bars & […]
The weather on my second full day in Auckland wasn’t any better than the first. I got a late start, but eventually I forced myself to get out and make the most of the day by seeing a couple more museums, the Auckland Art Gallery and the New Zealand Maritime Museum. Both are great rainy day […]
It was New Year’s Day in Auckland, and 2016 wasn’t kicking off with the best weather. In fact, it was the worst I’d seen my entire time in New Zealand, with lots of rain and wind making outdoor activities impossible. Most of my plans for Auckland had involved being outdoors, since the city is surrounded by […]
New Zealand is one of the first places in the world to ring in each New Year, so for 2016, I chose to go to Auckland, which hosts the largest show. By the time I checked in to my hotel after taking the long bus ride from Wellington to Auckland, it was already 9pm. It […]
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After a few days in Wellington, it was time for my final journey through New Zealand on the bus ride to Auckland. Thanks to booking early on Intercity, the ticket cost only $1 NZD. Following the 20 minute walk from my hotel, I arrived at the bus station in Wellington about 35 minutes early, and […]
Craft beer is growing in popularity in New Zealand, and nowhere is that more visible than in the capital, Wellington. The city is fairly small, with a compact CBD, making it easy for drinkers to get around on foot. Within a few blocks of my hotel there were at least a dozen great places to […]
Much like how I felt about Queenstown, I wished that I had more time to spend in Wellington. It’s a small city, but I liked everything about it, from the nice green spaces & access to water to the great craft beer scene. On my last day in Wellington, I tried to see as many museums […]
As I’ve mentioned previously, one of my reasons for going to New Zealand was to experience some of the places where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed firsthand. I took a Lord of the Rings tour when I was in Queenstown. Wellington is home of Weta Workshop & Weta Digital, which have produced […]
