Author: Siena Henson
I have been on an airplane more times than I can count – my parents put me on a plane to England when I was two weeks old! But traveling for two days straight never gets easier, even having done so multiple times. I got sweaty, impatient, exhausted, hungry, nauseated – all things that make for a great travel experience. I’m sure many of my co-travelers felt the same, but most were able to hide it far better than I was despite my traveling history. We started flying from Portland to San Francisco, as seemingly simple task of sitting for two hours with no complications. Well Mom, you’re not going to believe this, but for the first time since I was 14 I threw up on the plane. Luckily, I was the only one who faced this for the whole of the trip, and yes mom, I had a sick bag. Word to the wise; don’t fall asleep when the plane is taking off, you might end up spewing your sandwich.
The layover in San Francisco allowed us to get our steps in (not to brag but I got 12,000) before we entered 12 hours and 55 minutes of flying over the ocean in a tin can. We did some group yoga, ate overly expensive airport food, and called our loved ones before the inevitable Technology Shutoff™.
After passing by the first class, business class, and economy plus seats, we finally entered the College Student Zone in the back of the plane. It was a little tight, but most of us were next to our friends and didn’t have to face the awkward interaction of asking a stranger to get out of their seat to go to the bathroom. We had dinner at 10pm PST, and I boldly ordered hot tea while the plane was experiencing some intense turbulence. Soon after, an announcement was made throughout the plane to please stop ordering hot drinks for the safety of the crew; I felt a little bad but no tea was spilt by this gal! We watched movies and texted on the seat chat and tried to get a few precious hours of sleep.
After navigating customs and being searched for dangerous dirt on the bottom of our hiking boots, we finally arrived in New Zealand!!! Total air time: 16 hours. The time was around 5am, and the sun was just rising as we stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air. We then traveled through the tiny Auckland airport – a group of 20 young, loud Americans – to stock up on Cadbury products and coffee for the next flight to Nelson. We met Suzannah, our Carpe Diem representative, and we welcomed her into our family. Our next flight was on a tiny little plane, and we caught a few more Zs before arriving in Nelson and driving to our next location.
The location? A quirky, colorful hostel at the top of a long, steep driveway. I have a feeling they chose this location just so we could practice hiking with our massive packs… Nevertheless, after settling into our hostel, we were able to take a long-awaited shower – I felt like I had literally shed my skin – and made the trek to lunch. Our destination was a classic: fish and chips!
The variety of salt flavors was more than we had ever seen (ask your child which flavor they chose, I chose chili salt and I was far from disappointed). We then walked to a nearby park to explore and do a few icebreaker activities, and on the way back rushed back through the imminent deluge.
Our day ended with the assignment of roles for the month; concierges, co-pilots, editors in chief, top chefs, gratitude gurus, and rainbow unicorns. I’m a co-pilot, which means I help navigate the roads when we travel for hours at a time, and dad you’ll be happy to hear that I can also choose the playlist we listen to in the van! We then played card games, talked with our fellow hostel mates, and journaled our experiences. After a group effort to cook a spaghetti dinner, we retired around 8pm, the threshold for most of our jetlagged brains.
To my family, I love you so much and I can’t wait to share everything with you and I promise to take lots of pictures! Cal, I love you and I promise to bring back a sheep for you. 🙂