We set a new check-in time record, arriving at Hippo Lodge in Queenstown by 2:00 PM. We were so proud of ourselves. Here we had a queen ensuite with a kitchenette for NZ$85. November 29 and 30 were to be our last days in New Zealand, so we wanted to be comfortable and have plenty of room to organize all the clothing, rocks and souvenirs that had been rolling around in our car's boot for five weeks.
Queenstown is the number one adventure tourism destination in the world. Skydive, river raft, parasail, bungee jump, speed boats, ski, Lord of the Rings tours. We didn't do any of that. Hippo Lodge is up a steep hill half a mile from town, so going into town to eat some meals and buy things made of possum fur was enough adventure for us. We did take the gondola to 1,500 feet above town and watch the lights come on in the village next to a huge lake.
We got to the Queenstown airport bright and early and turned in our trusty rented car. Steve eschews rolling luggage, and put a back pack on his back, a day pack on his chest, and carried rocks and stuff in the food bag I had bought so long ago in the New Market neighborhood of Auckland.
We learned our Air New Zealand flight to Auckland was cancelled, and we would have to go on a later flight. This was not good, because we only had about two hours in Auckland to get our luggage, change terminals, and get on an Air Tahiti Nui flight to Tahiti.
I changed US$400 for 285 Euros, which we would need in Tahiti, except when we would need Polynesian Francs, or something like that. The currency exchange booth had a sign saying they would not buy currency from Brazil, Argentina, Pakistan or Iceland. We assume that the accident of birth in the U.S. makes us immune to economic disasters and devaluation of our mighty dollar, but that confidence has been shaken recently.
Air New Zealand tried hard to get us on the flight to Tahiti. They put our luggage on top so it could be transferred quickly. They called Air Tahiti Nui to tell them when they expected us to get to Auckland, and how much our luggage weighed. We arrived in Auckland 30 minutes before our international flight, and managed to get our luggage, take a bus to another terminal, and dash to the Air Tahiti desk 20 minutes before departure. The plane was still on the ground, but the desk staff was preparing to go off duty, because they didn't have another flight for three more days. They wouldn't let us on the plane. They told us to go talk with American Airlines, through which we had booked the international flights using frequent flier miles. American Airlines said they could get us to Los Angeles on a flight that evening, but it would cost us $300 to change our flight. We were sick of traveling at this point, and resigned to missing the four night layover we'd planned in Tahiti, but Steve said he was not ready to get on a trans-Pacific flight that day. We booked a flight to LA for the next day, and went to an airport restaurant to figure out where to stay our last sad night in New Zealand.
I changed our briefly held Euros back to New Zealand and U.S. dollars. I bought a few phone cards in a vain attempt to find one that worked so I could cancel the Tahiti arrangements and look for a place to stay in Auckland. I ended up using my cell phone to dial direct. It worked great, but I thought I would be paying $2 per minute for the convenience. When I got home, I found I was never billed a minute for my cell phone use in New Zealand. That saved hundreds of dollars.
We got sadder and more burnt out. Steve decided while I looked for a place to stay in Auckland (unfortunately, Lantana Lodge was filled), he would go try to negotiate with Air New Zealand. It was their fault we weren't going to Tahiti. He figured they should compensate us.
Their customer service rep was wonderful. He listened to our tale of woe, and to our surprise, was able to verify that we had reservations on the Air Tahiti flight that we missed. He took responsibility for our inability to catch that flight. Apparently the plane we should have taken from Queenstown had mechanical problems. He offered several options. The next direct flight from Auckland to Tahiti on any airline left three days hence. No thank you. He offered to get us to Tahiti via Hawai'i. No. How about the Cook Islands? Did we want to see the Cook Islands? We briefly considered, but decided, no, we just wanted to go home. Verifying our complaint and proposing solutions had taken the rep over an hour at this point, and I whispered to Steve to just tell the rep we would take $300 to compensate us for having to change our flight with American Airlines, and I would be satisfied. Steve wanted to just wait and see how far the rep was willing to go. I went to make more calls.
A few minutes later, Steve came over to where I was guarding our excessive luggage and trying to find a place to stay that wouldn't be too depressing. He happily announced the fruits of his negotiations: Air New Zealand would put us up at a hotel in downtown Auckland, pay for our cab into town and back (NZ$72 each way), buy us dinner, breakfast and lunch, let us stay in the hotel until 4:00 PM when it would be time to go back to the airport, and they would put us on an Air New Zealand flight to LA. All because they cancelled a shuttle flight from Queenstown to Auckland. We were happy again. Needless to say we love, love, love Air New Zealand.
They put us up at the Crowne Plaza, by far the fanciest accommodations of the trip. The food was wonderful. I'm my mother's daughter, and made sure I got my money's worth out of the breakfast and lunch buffets, even though they didn't cost us anything. This is lunch: beetroot with tangerine salad, salmon, asparagus, dolmades, dried tomatoes with green lipped mussels, kumara salad, fruit, mince pie, pecan pie, and warm Christmas pudding with hard sauce, just like our Aussie friend Chris Eastoe makes each year.
