A very relaxed start to the day - checking & rechecking that everything is either packed, not packed, turned off or otherwise in order. Crikey we are only away for three and a half weeks - as we have done previously. The weather was perfect and as I'd checked in on line, we felt pretty smug as we headed out of Warkworth. Oops, that is as far as we got- traffic came to a complete standstill and it was then an hour to get the next 6 or 7 kilometers. There had been an accident at the top of the Pohuehue viaduct and with usual Police efficiency, the road was basically closed both ways, while they do their "investigation ". However the remained of the trip was good, getting to the Park & Ride by 11.45. Roughly an hour late, but speedy processes through the Airport still left us just enough time for a coffee and muffin before being called for boarding.
As we are flying direct to Heathrow, via Hong Kong we have "upgraded" to Premium Economy on Cathay Pacific. I am updating this with roughly half way to go and we have been well fed and watered and the larger seats etc, makes it well worthwhile. This leg is on the A350-900, so I'll compare it later when we do the next leg on a Boeing 777. We are flying at 41,000 ft at a speed of 940 kph, which is quite a bit faster than we were doing a few hours ago. Our flight path was towards Brisbane and then up the eastern coastline. We passed directly over Bundaberg and probably over Moore Park Beach, where we were last month, seeing Alastair & family.
Moving right along, we arrived at Hong Kong roughly on time and after yet more security screening we headed off for coffee. A sign said "food & drinks" so we walked and walked until we found a Starbucks. Wow, HKD74, which I found out from internet banking was roughly $6.60 each coffee. Thankfully we aren't in HK too long. We had a slight problem in that although we are holding boarding passes, we do not have a gate #. As luck would have it, after coffee we found a flight board and our departure is Gate 1- we are down in the mid 40s. Good exercise and it only took about 15 minutes. We still had an hour until scheduled boarding.
Boarding did not happen on schedule, however we were all onboard at our planned departure time. The captain then made the announcement that as there were no winds on our planned route, it will only take just over 11 hours but as planes are not allowed to land at Heathrow before 6.00, we will sit here for another half an hour or so. As an aside the captain is Irish.
Comparison time. This leg is a Boeing 777-300ER, a much older plane compared to the Airbus, and it looks as though it is either on lease or purchased from a Korean airline as signs are in Korean rather than Chinese. We have the front seats in PE, by the emergency exit. Plenty of legroom, but no storage and a smaller foldaway screen. The programmes are not as extensive - we had live TV before and Vivian was keen to find out the result of the UK election. Not being negative, but the food is not as good, but by now, who needs food or entertainment? No, this is the sleep sector. Pleased to say that we got a few hours on and off and that should keep us sane when we get to UK.
We made it. Currently we are sitting in the Coach Station at Heathrow, waiting for our bus to Southampton which leaves at 9.45. As usual we had allowed plenty of time in case plane was late. However as expected we were about half an hour early- just as well with UK Border Control. Hate to say it, but made LA look quite civilised. To be fair, first thing in the morning and there are heaps of planes arriving (mainly with "Aliens"). Breakfast on the plane as ho-hum, so we stopped off at the Giraffe Stop by the Arrivals and had a lovely Flat White & bacon sandwich. Don't mention the price. Of course the pound has taken a bit of a hammering overnight, but of course I bought GBP 2 weeks ago, not that it will break the bank. Good to see the NZD gain against USD, as all onboard expenses are in USD - long may it continue.
We are still pretty perky after all these hours awake. I am a believer in "No Jet Lag" natural remedy. Hope to keep going until my usual sleep time (8.00ish 😀). We'll see. Weather is great so far. Oh, btw, we flew over all our Baltic ports, not that we could see anything at 3.00 in the morning.
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