Airport Surprises!

Kaitlyn and I have spent the last few days in New Zealand, but we had a bit of a difficult time getting here, that's for sure! We arrived at the Sydney airport two hours early, as is usual for international flights. We waited in the line for Quantas airlines, same as all the times before. Except this time when we got to the counter, we were informed that we had to have paper “proof” that we would be leaving New Zealand before we could get our boarding passes. Well that was definitely a surprise! Luckily I had booked my flight to Adelaide the night before, however Kaitlyn hadn’t. There were two options laid out for us: we could find the check-in booth for Virgin Australia (the airline I had booked on) and get them to print off my boarding pass OR find the office for the airline on the second level of the airport. Seems simple enough right? We should have lots of time…or not.

After running around the airport for about fourty minutes with two hiking bags weighing about twenty-five pounds each and two additional backpacks, Kaitlyn and I were unsuccessful in finding the Virgin Australia booth. The information and help centre was closed as well so we headed upstairs for option number two. After navigating some very confusing hallways that all looked the same, we found the Virgin Australia office but it was locked! A very nice lady came out when she saw us at the doors and told us that they only booked flights to Los Angeles and Abu Dabhi! She realized that we were very upset and worried about missing our flight and she brought us into the office after about another ten minute wait (while she looked for additional help) and printed off my boarding pass and booked a flight for Kaitlyn online.

Feeling more than a bit relieved, we returned to the Quantas check-in booths where we heard an announcement on the intercom saying that our flight had begun boarding! An airport official rushed us to the beginning of the line and we began the process of checking in once more. Except the lady was unable to find a seat for Kaitlyn on the plane and so we waited for about another fifteen minutes as more boarding calls for our flight sounded over the intercom. Eventually we got both our boarding passes and were led through the express lane to go through customs.

Everything should go smoothly from there, right? Wrong again, I got pulled aside at security for a random explosives test. Kaitlyn decided to run ahead and hold off our plane from leaving. After passing the test, I sprinted through the terminal to find our gate (which of course was the last one). And what a surprise! The plane hadn't even started boarding yet. Turns out all the stress and worry was for nothing! We managed to get on the plane just fine, make it through New Zealand customs, and arrive at our hostel in Auckland. So friendly tip for friends and family travelling to New Zealand in the future: Have printed proof that you're leaving the country before you arrive at the airport. It'll make things a bit easier. But then again, if not, it turns out to be a great story to tell!

Coming soon: Two days in Auckland!