Our last day in Honolulu was exactly what we wanted it to be—restful. The Hawaiian Village seems to specialize in, well making things restful. After breakfast we moved our luggage to the storage centre and returned to our room for a leisurely coffee. As checkout time approached we abandoned the room and paid the bill, or at least transferred it to VISA. There are so many places to relax at the resort in the sun or in the shade. Places to shop are plentiful as are places to eat and drink or simply walk and enjoy the gardens of the resort and neighbouring resorts along the Waikiki Beach.
To pass part of the afternoon we booked on to a catamaran and sailed around the bay and visited Diamond Head. We managed a glimpse of several whales and paused as we returned to shore to allow several sea turtles to get a look at us. After a light dinner we picked up the key to a hospitality suite where we were able to shower off the beach sand and get ready for the marathon flight to Auckland and on to Melbourne.
Speedishuttle delivered us to Honolulu airport on time and the check-in, and security screening went smoothly. Once we were in the departure lounge it became evident that the Boeing 767 was going to be far from overloaded for its trip to Auckland. We actually departed Honolulu right on schedule and arrived in Auckland ahead of schedule. At 11 pm Saturday we took off from Honolulu, one hour later it became Sunday and about 4 or 5 hours later it became Monday. We did our very best to sleep through Sunday and a few hours of Monday but it was far from restful. The sunrise, however, helped us feel less tired.
For some unexplained reason I was provided special meal service on this flight. It was not something I had requested but it did mean I got a nice fish dinner while the others had chicken and a reasonable ham and egg breakfast. It also resulted in our being served first. Oh well, thanks Air New Zealand.
A few things went a bit sideways as we arrived in Auckland. First, we were unable to locate our checked luggage tags. Seems innocent enough, but nay, nay. Had we been certain our luggage had been checked through to Melbourne we could have used the International Connection route through New Zealand customs. Instead we had to go to the luggage carousel and make sure it did not come off the plane to be left stranded. It was about this time when the lost luggage tags were found, ah, but too late. Out through the terminal then back through a complete security screening—again. We arrived at our new departure gate with dignity our only loss, perhaps a bit of sanity too.
Our Boeing 777 was filled to capacity, unlike the previous flight. Once again we made good time and arrived early in Melbourne. By 11 AM we were in our new hotel room. Exhausted! Nay, nay again. To give up now would mean we would be out of sync for ever, or nearly so. Press on we did. We took a long walk through Melbourne’s China Town and did a bit of grocery shopping. Next we boarded the Free City Circle Tram and did one and a half circles of the Central Business District.
We left the train for a while at Federation Square and figured out where to meet our Tuesday tour. Federation Square is a tourist hub with an information centre, several tour operators and access to the Yarra River bank where more food is offered and one finds river tours by boat. Looks like a possible activity for Friday.
It is now just after 6 PM Monday and we feel like we’ve been awake since Saturday. What do you know, we have!