Hi, I'm Matthew 👋

I'm a Software Developer from New Zealand

2010 Trip: San Francisco to Christchurch

3 minutes
July 22, 2010

9th - 11th July 2010

So, I flew back to Auckland and then back to Christchurch, losing a day because of the time difference. I think Air New Zealand is actually a quite superior airline, the staff are excellent, they serve familiar drinks (L&P!), with familiar accents, and they are helpful to a fault.

I think the back-of-seat entertainment system that Air New Zealand has is also one of the best I have come across and they are planning to upgrade it to a touch screen system at the end of the year. Kudos! I had a little bit of a cold, which sucked, but I had been away long enough and it was good to get back.

Just a few final bits and pieces to note. When leaving the plane from San Francisco, I met Ashley (an old university buddy), randomly. How small is this place? Oh, and it is freezing here! Though the early morning flight down to Christchurch was really quite beautiful, watching the sun come up and the beautiful pink light on the Southern Alps.

I suppose I should end this long journal (probably the longest I have ever written by an order of magnitude) with a few comments and words of wisdom. As Angela told me before I left, the point of travelling is experience. If you travel aimlessly, you may or may not find what you are looking for.

My purposes in this trip were several - to break some of my preconceptions about myself and the world, to see something new, and to get some perspective on life outside of being a student in New Zealand. I also wanted time to clarify and mull over some of the decisions I will have to make in my life, while I don’t think it has helped with some decisions, it has made my course of action clearer and made me more confident in a number of ways. It has also allowed me to accept some of my actions over the past year for what they were and what I am. As cryptic as that sounds, it made sense to me.

So if you have actually read all this and got to the end, more fool you. Hopefully, you got something out of it. I think that it as been a useful experience writing this, even if I did get a little behind in the second half of the trip.

A few stats…

Days: 72

Forms of Transport: Ferry, Catamaran, Car, Cable Car, Funicular, Gondola, Train, Tram, Subway, Walking, Cycling, Plane, Elevator, High Speed Elevator, Bus.

Total Flying Time: ~58hrs

Nights - Plane: 3, Hotel: 7, Friends & Relatives: 22, Train: 4, Hostels: 35 (71 Total)

Countries (12 - 5 New): Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, France, England, USA.

Photos: 1700+

Videos: 102

Total Spent: That is for me to know and for you not to :P