20TH JUNE Last DayNz!😭

I am genuinely sad to be leaving Nz and that my attemp asylum seeking failed..its a fabulous country that is chilled ,cares for its people, has huge cultural pride ,minds its own business on the international scene ,it seems
( though Im told that the country is in difficult situation being reliant on import and export particularly with china and the usa )stunning scenery and an attitude of finding a reason to do things/ try things .. The attitudes of this country, suits me. Those who are expats and been here a while feel its too cut off and not near enough other countries they'd like to visit.
Having packed my bags. I decided to go to the Auckland museum which is in a beautiful park area known as Domain .There was a Maori cultural experience today ..However I'd missed the 11am show and the next was 1.30pm. I looked round the museum and had some lunch .Although it was 1.15 pm when I'd done that ,I was mindful of getting to the airport extremely well in advance of my flight to Canada 🇨🇦, just in case of problems
So i left without seeing the cultural experience ,returned to the hotel ,collected my bags and went to the airport. My taxi driver was a lady from Afghanistan.
At the airport, I enlisted the support of Air New Zealand staff ,explained my situation and asked for help...as everything at Auckland airport is self service...online check-in...a machine that prints boarding cards and luggage labels a machine that weighs and scans the luggage destination.
The assistant was lovely and my bags and boarding pass were sorted
I'd bought a business class flight because its an overnight flights, meaning I'd get a lie flat bed .
As a perk at Auckland airport ,business class passengers have separate express security/ border force..which the lady guided me to .
Once through the formalities, barely daring to believe it had been OK, I set myself up in the business class lounge for the next 5hrs .overlooking the airfield which is next to the sea ,snacking on the rather funky food (eg curried potato salad), I stuck to cheese and biscuits, chocolate cake tea and juice until it was time to board
Now i must say that Every flight is compared to my beloved Emirates. Air Nz business class seats are in the smallest space of those I've travelled on .the seat is on the diagonal . One good point a retractable privacy screen as,otherwise the other passengers in the middle section are looking in at you. Another good point, a seat belt like a car ,over your shoulders .The table storage was good
The staff don't prepare your bed tho ..unlike Emirates and I missed out on the memory foam mattress cos I didn't know there was one till the morning 😅
Food was ok and staff lovely ,but it's not Emirates!🤣
At this point in Nz I am.....
11hrs ahead of Uk
19hrs ahead of Vancouver
And all that is about to change as we fly over the International Date Line.
Feel very emotional leaving Nz and will definitely be back for a longer time hopefullyRead more