We have arrived

15,893 miles. That’s how far I flew to get here. 

My first flight left Washington DC at 10:55 am on Sunday, October 7th. From there, I flew 13 hours to Dubai on an Emirates A380-800, the largest commercial jet on the planet. Having nobody in my row meant I got to put all the armrests up and turn my entire row into my own bed. I managed to catch a few hours of shuteye on the first flight despite my plane getting Fox NFL Sunday. Watching the blood orange sunrise over Baghdad was one of the most mesmerizing sites I have ever seen from the sky. We landed in Dubai at 8:00 am...it was 94 degrees out.

In Dubai, I was informed by Emirates staff that my entrance to New Zealand was being blocked because I didn’t have a flight out of New Zealand. After some serious scrambling to purchase a flight, I was able to board my plane for Auckland.  

I left Dubai at 10:00 am. At 15 hours and 45 minutes, the flight from Dubai to Auckland is one of the longest commercially available flights. Luckily, 15 hours of travel had  worn me out and I was able to sleep for around seven hours on the second flight. Just before 11:00 am Tuesday, we broke through the low cloud clover and misty Auckland finally revealed itself. 

Alex had arrived five hours earlier and was waiting for me right outside of immigration. We greeted each other with huge smiles, a high-five, and a much louder “We f****** made it!” than we probably should have in public. What can we say? We are excited. 

Our Airbnb was a 35 minute Uber from the airport. We are in the Central Business District just a flew blocks from the bus that will take us to Kaitaia. 

We were able to get my New Zealand phone plan set up quickly. Unfortunately, AT&T still has yet to unlock Alex’s phone after multiple calls to Customer Service. We are saying a little prayer that they resolve the issue today, otherwise, he will have to use a daily international plan for the first 10 days of the hike. We were also able to get our gas canisters but noticed a leak in our stove when we tried to screw it on. We are going to need to replace it before we get on the bus. We went to the liquor store to get some beer and left with the only thing we recognized, Budweiser. We stick out like sore thumbs as Americans. 

This morning, Alex and I are getting our bounce box set up which we will mail to Kerikeri, about 10 days into the trip. Our bounce box contains all of our extra shoes, toiletries, and clothing that we will need as our current gear gives way to the wear and tear. We are also going to Countdown, the local grocery store, to get food which will last us the first five days. 

Tomorrow we will be taking the bus to Kaitaia, then hitch-hiking to Cape Reinga. From there, we will walk down the aptly named 90 Mile Beach, which is 55 miles, to Ahipara. From Ahipara, we will walk back to Kaitaia and resupply there. The weather for the first stretch is not ideal.  The forecast is calling for rain seven to eight of the first ten days. 

-Ethan