Day 24
Summary: Had a 90-minute couples massage, flew from Queenstown to Auckland, then to Chicago, and finally Syracuse
Saturday, January 25th
We packed our bags and checked out of the final accommodation of our three week long adventure. Our flight departed at 5pm, so we had most of the day to soak up our remaining time in New Zealand as much as we could.
We like to start out our vacations with a couples massage, but this time we ended with one! I was so sore from quad biking and the thought of sitting on an airplane for 14+ hours made a massage sound extra appealing. We booked a massage at Nadi Wellness and it was amazing!
She focused on my sore back and shoulders and I felt so much better! There was only one problem: they didn’t have a shower. We had already checked out of our hotel and now we were covered in massage oil with nowhere to shower! They gave us damp towels to get most of the oil off, but there was so much oil in my long hair! There was nothing we could do about it, so I just put it up in a bun and thought of it as a conditioning treatment. It was absolutely worth getting the massage, but let’s just say I showered as soon as we got home!
We ate lunch at a place called HELL Pizza and it was good! All of the items on their menu had on-brand names, like Brimstone and Purgatory.
It was an overcast and chilly morning, so we walked around in the sun whenever it came out. We watched these boats from a tour company called Hydro Attack and were amazed! They are super fast boats shaped like sharks that go under water and jump straight up in the air! We had never seen anything like it! It honestly looks like it would be a little terrifying!
As we walked along the lake, we crossed paths with someone who recognized us! It took us a second, because we didn’t expect to see anyone we knew, but it was a girl from our Australian tour group! We knew she was living in Auckland at the time, but we didn’t think we would run into her on the South Island! She was just visiting Queenstown for the weekend and we were at the same place at the same time. It was good to see her!
We stopped at a grocery store to buy a few New Zealand snacks as gifts for people back home and then we headed to the airport. We dropped off the rental car and got to our gate with no problems. We were pretty early, but it is better to be early than miss it! Our instructions at the gate were to “relax”!
Our flight to Auckland was about an hour and we landed at 6:30pm. Our flight to Chicago boarded at 7:30pm and to get there we had to leave the domestic terminal, walk outside a ways to the international terminal, go through security, and walk to our gate all the way at the farthest end of the terminal. Luckily, we made it with some time to spare because we walked fast and security wasn’t busy. A major flight like that would be a bummer to miss! Although, I’m sure they would have waited a few minutes if we were late.
Our 14-hour flight to Chicago wasn’t full, so they allowed passengers to spread out if desired. The guy sitting in the aisle seat of our row moved to sit with his wife, so we had our row to ourselves! It was nice to not have to wake a stranger up to use the bathroom.
We had dinner, each watched a movie, and then we watched The Hobbit at the same time and fell asleep off and on. I’m not sure how much I slept, but it was a decent amount. Maybe 6 hours?
When they turned the lights on, we had breakfast and put on the second Hobbit movie. We landed in Chicago at 5pm – the same day as we left! Even though we left at 5pm Saturday and flew for 14+ hours, the time zones made it so no time had passed at all.
Since we were back in the US, we had to collect our bags and go through customs. They didn’t care as much as New Zealand what we brought in, as long as we didn’t have any drugs or alcohol, which we didn’t. The novel coronavirus had just started to spread in China, so some people were wearing masks and there were a few signs instructing people who had visited China to alert officials if they were feeling sick. Nobody knew it would end up a pandemic! We are so grateful we traveled when we did, I feel terrible for anyone since who has had to cancel their trips due to the virus.
After customs, we re-checked our bags, took a shuttle to another terminal, and went through security. We found our gate for our flight to Syracuse, which happened to be right across from an Auntie Anne’s pretzel kiosk and there was no question I was getting one! I haven’t had a pretzel there in years so I got my favorite: cinnamon sugar. It was so satisfying! Greg got a garlic parmesan pretzel, the last treat of our trip.
We boarded our flight and drove around on the tarmac for what felt like forever before taking off an hour after boarding. The flight was only an hour and a half, but we were both in middle seats, we felt stinky and greasy, everyone’s screens were defaulted to flashing commercials, and it was our last stretch, so we just wanted to get home!
We finally landed in Syracuse at 9pm, so it was as if only 4 hours had passed since we took off in Queenstown that same day!
My mom and dad were there to pick us up. We got my bag, but Greg’s bag was still in Chicago! We had both put our bags on the conveyor belt at the same time, but somehow his didn’t make it on our plane and mine did. We talked to a lady who helped us locate it and she had them put it on the first flight the next morning, which was at 8:40am. We had to drive 7 hours home to Virginia the next day, so we made sure they knew they had to deliver it to my parents’ house before noon. (Which they did!) That was our only travel hiccup and it happened at the last possible part of our trip! We lucked out!
We told my parents some stories on the way home and then we finally got to see our kitties! They were a little hesitant at first, but then they remembered us. We missed them so much, but they had a good time hanging out with my parents and their cat. They cuddled with us all morning, so I think they missed us too.
Since it was time for bed and we were tired, we just went to sleep at a normal time and got up in the morning. So we basically skipped over jet lag! We did well with the flight times and the amount of sleep we got on the plane.
On Sunday, we had Greg’s parents over so we could visit with them and tell them about our trip. Greg’s luggage got delivered with no problems, so that was a weight off our minds. My grandparents came over to say hi and then we packed up our car (including the stuff we had from our time at home for Christmas), got the cats in the carrier, and drove home!
We finally got home at 8:30pm after being gone for 5 and a half weeks! The cats were great in the car and Greg drove the whole way. The drive actually flew by, I guess 7 hours doesn’t seem too long after over 24 hours of travel the day before!
Greg turned the main water valve back on, but that caused the pressure in the hot water heater to gush water out of the pressure relief valve and all over the floor. We shut off the water, mopped it up, and relieved the pressure by opening the faucets around the house. Phew!
Then, we had to replace a battery in one of our smoke detectors because it was chirping every 10 seconds.
Then, we could bring all of our stuff inside from the car and go to bed!
Despite those few issues, I would say the house did very well without us for over a month in the winter.
It was successful trip all around! We had a great mix of adventurous and relaxing activities as well as planned and spontaneous activities. The pacing was perfect, we never got tired of being together 24/7, and we had so much fun! It’s a trip we will never forget and I’m so thankful we had the means to make it a reality.
While a trip of this length is definitely expensive, a lot of the things we did were free or low cost! It doesn’t cost anything to enjoy beaches or mountains. The natural beauty of those countries is spectacular and I’m so thankful we got to experience it! I hope these posts give you an idea about things to do in Australia and New Zealand and you found these chronicles interesting and entertaining!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca
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