New Zealand Trip: Melbourne-Sydney-Auckland

Thursday 26 August

Yes I went the long way. My day started with a domestic flight from Melbourne to Sydney.

My first ride for today. Qantas 767 300 VH-OGN

My aircraft for this leg was the venerable Qantas 767, when I booked it was supposed to be an A330. I was allocated a seat in the forward economy cabin with all the important business people off for a days work in Sydney, usually I have to slum it down the back. It was an ordinary flight although we took a slightly different route to what I am used to. From what the pilot said we had to slow down due to congestion in Sydney. We made an early left turn and then turned right and headed straight for the coast some way south of Sydney. The usual route is to fly straight past Campbelltown and then commence an 'S' turn over Lucas heights to the Royal National Park and out to sea to line up with one of the parallel runways somewhere off Cronulla (Usually looks a bit like this).

In Flight en-route to Sydney

One highlight for me was watching a Virgin Blue aircraft slowly overtake us, must have been at least 10 kilometres away.

Virgin Blue 737 overtaking us

Arrival at the gate

In Sydney I took the domestic transfer bus to the international terminal. This involves heading to a desk near gate 1 scanning your boarding pass and heading down an escalator to a lounge where you wait for a bus. For Domestic to International transfers on Qantas or from Qantas to a One World partner airline there is no need to collect any luggage and re check it. Having done the trip in reverse last year I knew the ride over would be interesting so I got my camera out. Its like a private tour of Qantas' maintenance hangers. Sadly there were no A380's to be seen anywhere.





Once over at the international terminal you are deposited "landside" and have to pass through passport control and security like any other passenger. That is when I entered shopping world. Not only do you get routed through the Duty Free shops before you reach the gates, you get to walk through what could pass for a Westfield shopping centre if it didn't have aircraft instead of cars in the car park. All tax free of course.

I slowly made my way to the gate which was right at the end of one of the concourses. As I got closer I could see the aircraft hadn't shown up yet. Strange as there was only about 10 minutes to go before boarding. The aircraft for this flight was meant to be one of Qantas's new trans Tasman 737-800s with AVOD (Audio Video On Demand). At the adjacent gate I spotted just such an aircraft, a New Zealand registered Qantas 737-800 but it didn't look like it was going anywhere soon.

Not going anywhere, Qantas 737-800 ZK-QXC
This aircraft should be taking me to Auckland

Sure enough a staff member soon appeared at the desk and soon made an announcement stating that our departure would be delayed due to a faulty aircraft and that boarding would not commence for another 40 minutes. With that I decided to go for a wander, stopping at a window to watch some comings and goings when I spied an aircraft under tow. It was another 737-800, but a regular domestic one. And sure enough it was towed into our gate.

The substitute aircraft for my flight.
737-800 VH-VXP "Logan"
(named after the City of Logan in QLD)

Busy times, a Cathay Pacific A330-300
and Air Pacific 747-400

Unloading containers from the hold of the
Cathay Pacific Airbus A330

There is no mistake here. The classic lines of the Boeing 747

In the background the tail of an Aerlineas Argentinas A340

After wandering a bit more I arrived back at the gate just in time for boarding. I had selected a window seat and thankfully it wasn't a full load, so the middle seat next to me was empty. Soon enough we pushed back and began our taxi. While I was waiting I noticed that a lot aircraft were using the east west runway and we would be no exception. So we taxied back past T2 (the Domestic terminal used by Virgin Blue, Jetstar, Tiger, Rex and Qantaslink) to the end of runway 25 and took off to the west. Our route took us over some familiar Sydney landmarks before heading out over the Tasman.

A quick right turn after take off.
The airport is still visible in upper right.

Sydney Olympic Park.

Also visible are the Flemington markets, the large
sheds in the middle right. Just bellow that are the
Flemington rail workshops, and in the lower right
hand corner is Lidcombe station. The Sydney CBD
is also visible at the top of the photo.

General view over the inner west of Sydney towards
eastern and southern suburbs . Botany Bay and
the airport can be seen as well.

Cool view directly overhead the CBD, the main landmarks
visible are Darling Harbour and Hyde Park.

Approaching Auckland. Typical green

hilly Kiwi North Island countryside.

The flight went really fast and in fact we "made up time", a great piece of airline captain speak that. (Reminds me of the Jerry Sienfelds take on it 5th paragraph). We didn't even get to finish the movie. The flight couldn't have been more than 2 hours. I was off the plane and walking to immigration in no time. The smart gate is a great invention. You don't need to go to a desk and deal with an official in a bad mood, instead you just go to a kisosk, scan your passport, answer some questions and take a ticket Then you approach a gate, insert your ticket, smile for the camera, take your ticket, walk through open gate and away you go. The best bit is that so far it is only available to Australian and New Zealand passport holders. Apparently you can go to a kiosk to get pre clearance before you fly, but I didn't see them in Sydney, or in Auckland on the way back for that matter...

I arrived at the luggage carousel only to find my bag was one of the first off. Can't argue with that for service. Sadly they weren't filming Border Patrol in Auckland that day, but then I didn't do anything wrong so breezed through customs. And with that I was out in public in Aotearoa. First order of business was finding an ATM for some cash. Next was to find the bus to the Auckland CBD.

In a matter of minutes I was on the bus heading for the City. The fare was NZ$18 which compares pretty well with what you would pay in Australia (I worked on approx NZ$1 = AU$0.80). I love that first ride from the airport in a new place always eye opening. Things I noticed were firstly:

• English style pedestrian crossings black and white stripped pole topped with illuminated yellow bulb. They are classic.
• Speed limit signs, same as ours except ours are rectangular with red circle painted on. Theirs are just round to start with.
• Lots of wierd Japanese cars, particularly Toyota and Nissan
• Bunnings Warehouse, Mitre 10.
• Countdown supermarket is the same as Woolworths.
• Saw at least one "The Warehouse - where everyone gets a bargain"
• Lots of small bottle shops in local shopping strips.

After getting off the bus at the right stop I was quickly checking in to my hotel. The All Seasons Auckland. Conveniently located in Wyndham Street just off Auckland's main drag Queen Street. Up a very steep hill, right next to a sex shop. Great location. Don't be fooled by the name, the All Seasons was a Motel Formulae 1 in a previous life, I'm not sure why Accor changed the name. The photo of the room on the website makes it look a lot larger than it really is, a common problem with hotel websites. However the room was more than adequate for my short one night stay. I would be back latter in my trip for a further two nights, that would be the real test.

Anyway after dumping my stuff I was keen to get out into the fresh Auckland air after spending all day in a/c environments. Deciding to walk down towards the waterfront the first thing I was confronted with was a fight about to break out in front of a bar. Great first impression there. I quickly slipped past

As it was after 7pm by this stage all the shops were closed, and there was very little in the way of food apart from Subway and Burger King. Down at the waterfront I walked around for a while but the area was dead quiet and none of the restaurants really appealed to me. I went back up Queen Street and got take away from Burger King and bought some supplies for the following day from a convenience store. Back in my room I sat up in bed and watched some TV before calling it a night.

Great American Chocolate Taste Off

So once again here we are in the City by the Bay, the town that Dirty Harry once got lucky in (or something like that), San Francisco, for the Great American Chocolate taste off.

Actually I thought it would be interesting to compare American chocolate to something I am familiar with. This is all based on my assumption that American chocolate is mostly sugar with less cocoa. Let's see if my assumption is correct. So I have 3 bars of chocolate to try.

From Left to Right: English Cadbury Dairy Milk, American Cadbury Dairy Milk
and Hershey's Milk Chocolate

Contender Number 1: Cadbury Dairy Milk

This is the original made in Bournville Birmingham England, that I found in a candy store at Fisherman's Wharf the other day. I've already had a bit and it is very good, like how I remember Dairy Milk tasting before they started playing with it a few years ago.

Ingredients as listed: Milk, Sugar, Cocoa, Cocoa Butter, Vegetable Oil, Emulsifiers (Ammonium phosphatides, Polyglycerol, polyricinoleate, Vanilla.

Appearance, Smell etc...: Typical Cadbury Dairy Milk, bits start flaking off as soon as you break it. Smells of cocoa.


Contender Number 2: Cadbury Dairy Milk, manufactured in the USA.

Manufactured under licence by the Hershey Company in Hershey PA it comes in the original foil pack with paper label wrapped around, it even carries the royal seal and the words "By appointment to H.M the Queen..."

Ingredients as listed: MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE; SOY LECITHIN; PGPR; EMULSIFIER; NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR).

Appearance, Smell etc...: Looks and smells just the same as the English variety.

Contender Number 3: Hershey's Milk Chocolate

As far as I know this is the default chocolate for the US I could be wrong though, as Ghiradelli Chocolate is everywhere in San Francisco. (I bought some Ghirardelli 60% Cocoa dark chocolate the other day and it is pretty good. See not at bottom)

Ingredients as listed: MILK CHOCOLATE (SUGAR; MILK; CHOCOLATE; COCOA BUTTER; LACTOSE MILK FAT; SOY LECITHIN; PGPR; EMULSIFIER; VANILLIN; ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR).

Appearance, Smell etc...: Darker in colour than both Cadbury's, but smell's not too sweet. Reminds me of Easter egg chocolate a bit.

And now for the moment of truth. I have clensed my palate with a good swig of the Sierra Nevada's finest natural alpine spring water, and will do so between tastings.

The Taste Test

English Cadbury Dairy Milk:

Makes a nice snap when you bite through the piece, the creamy texture fill's your mouth and you get that first burst of cocoa. Leaves a nice milky cocoa aftertaste.

American Cadbury Dairy Milk:

Starts well with that nice snap sound on the first bite, but then you hit the granular texture and sickly sweet taste. The after taste is sugary.

Hershey's Milk Chocolate:

The snap is barely noticable, the texture is sticky and a bit mushy. The taste is too strong and very sweet. The aftertaste is unpleasant. I didn't even finish the piece I bit into.

The Verdict:

English Cadbury by a mile. I don't know if I was just confirming my subconscious prejudices, but the American chocolate was awful. I was surprised that even the Cadbury made by Hershey's was not closer to the English version. I should get some English Cadbury when I get home and compare it to the Australian made version. The Hershey was just too sickly sweet, just all wrong wrong wrong. There is very little chocolate there. Looking at the ingredients it is clear that there is something wrong when you see that "artificial flavor" is listed. Also telling is that the first ingredient on both USA made bars is sugar, assuming ingredients are listed by percentage.

I think I will bin the American ones and continue to nibble the English Cadbury.

Ghirardelli Chocolate

As I said, the Ghirardelli Chocolate I had was very good dark chocolate. It is made right here in San Francisco, which probably accounts for its popularity here. It seems to be made to a higher standard than Hershey's. If you come here I recommend buying this over other American chocolate.

Dim and Sim

Two weeks ago I went to the South Melbourne Market and...

Oh boy can't wait.

Pour in some Soy and chilli sauce...

...Then shake the bag to get maximum
coverage

mmmm yum

...num num num...

Go Away Pigeons! Not for you!

Shake the bag again to get more coverage.

All gone!

Then I went around the corner to the jam doughnut caravan...

Clocking Off

It was a real pain and yet so easy to get to work today. I didn't have to worry about buying/validating tickets, and there was hardly anyone around. Thanks for the free ride Mrs Kosky that was a nice present. I felt like I was going to work on a Saturday, as the street where my workplace is was unusually quiet. The only crowds I noticed were at the fish shop, where everyone seemed to be buying prawns.

I only ended up doing about an hour and halfs worth of work, but we were told to charge a full day in our timesheets anyway, no complaints there. At 11:30 we had an informal lunch with chicken and salads, unfortunately it ran out all too quickly and many people who turned up late missed out altogether. Someone came to the rescue and ordered Pizzas.

I spent about half an hour playing a game on the computer after lunch. I was playing Portal: the flash version which is quite a good version of the full PC version of Portal. Eventually I decided enough was enough and I left work for the last time this year, but still filled in a days worth of time in my time sheet. (naughty? No we were instructed to do so. Who am I to argue?)

On the way home I finished off my Christmas shopping at Westfield Doncaster, and found it strangely relaxed. No one was really in a hurry or in much of a frenzy, it was good to see. While there I bought my last present, for my mum. I aslo bought myself a small present. Need for Speed Undercover for the Wii. I also bought 2 six packs of imitation Corona from Safeway, and four limes. The limes were unusually cheap, the ticketed price was 99 cents each, but they turned out at 50 cents each. Looking at my docket, I think the fruit shop I went to must give out random discounts. I was lucky.

From there I got the bus home and have just finished wrapping all the presents for tommorow. I think I will now go and play with the present from myself, before wrapping it up and giving it to myself again tommorow.

Update Update

I promise I will start working on the promised Adelaide rail/transport post, but for now a short update.

Last night I went to a friends birthday in St Kilda, at a pizza restaurant bar type place situated in the old St Kilda station. The food was good and cheap ($5 pizzas), alcohol was okayish pricewise, the doof doof music was terrible. At a table near us were seated the winner of the moddeling show hosted by Jenifer Hawkins on channel 7 and all his friends. Boorish " metro" types in fluro T shirts and wierd haircuts. That guy is probably set for life though, can have any man/woman he chooses, and will rake in millions. Good luck to him.

The view out my front door

Right now it is raining in Melbourne, although most people probably noticed that. There is also the occasional hail shower. At one stage the hail was so thick on the ground it looked a bit like snow. I haven't seen hail like this for years. It's not in much of a hurry to melt away either, and is still sitting on the ground nearly an hour since the first shower (although as I said it has been topped up occasionally).

Looking up the street

Our rain gauge was emptied this morning just after it started to rain, and was reading about 15 mm after the first hail shower. Not sure how accurate it is or how much the hail floating in the top affects it, but I suspect it is actually a bit less than the reading. The near by Viewbank weather station does not seem to agree either.

Hail floating in the rain gauge

When "The Lot" is not actually "The Lot"

Why is it that my local fish and chip shop charges extra for pineapple on all it's hamburgers, including the "Hamburger with The Lot"? Obviously if you have to pay 60 cents extra for something you are not actually getting "The Lot". I don't know if this happens at other Fish and Chip shops, I'll have to take note next time.

Food for thought...

How do you like them Avocados?

The lack of recent posts can be explained by me being stuck in bit of a rut as of late. Nothing really exciting has happened. so that's about it really.

Anyway....

The other day I bought a chicken schnitzel roll for lunch, in it along with the schnitzel,were some cheese, mayonnaise and Avocado. I don't get Avocado, to me it's a nothing food, it's mushy and it tastes neither good nor bad. I get the impression that some people (especially sandwich shop workers who use it as filler) hold it up as some kind of super universal food, and I suppose it is being full of nutrients and vitamins, especially vitamin C. Apparently Avocados are classified as a type of berry.

On Wednesday I went for a longish walk at lunch time, something I've been intending to do for ages. I used to do a lot of walking, but since I started this job (over a year ago now!) I've been living a very sedentary life. I'm aiming go on 2 lunch time walks a week.

ANZAC Biscuits

Almost forgot to mention that the night before ANZAC day I decided to make ANZAC biscuits. This was my first time cooking biscuits, and that despite not realising exactly how much bigger a table spoon is compared to a desert spoon (where some evasive action saved the mixture from being too dry), they turned out very well. I got my recipe from an ANZAC Day website, which also includes a little background info on how they came to be.