As my Emirates flight to Sydney wasn’t departing until 6:00 on that Sunday evening, I found myself with a good bit of free time before departing Christchurch. After breakfast, I walked through beautiful Hagley Park towards downtown and spent a good bit of time exploring the Cathedral Square area. Since its inception, the square has always been regarded as the physical and metaphorical heart of Christchurch. While this was one of the hardest hit areas during the earthquakes, the square (which is actually shaped like a cross) has gradually been re-establishing its position as the city’s focal point for artistic, cultural, musical, and community-based events. I later took a stroll down New Regent Street. Originally opened in 1932, this street is touted as being the first pedestrian mall in New Zealand. Its colorful Spanish Mission style buildings have always made the street a standout local attraction. Along with its stunning historic features, I found New Regent Street to be home to any number of boutique shops, cafés, bars and eateries. I enjoyed browsing the different stores and, once lunchtime arrived, I settled down for a pleasant meal at the crowd-pleasing Smokey T’s Barbecue Restaurant. It's a food truck that recently took up residence at the artist's collective and gallery space known as The Corner Store on Cashel St. While different from our Eastern North Carolina vinegar-based offerings, my sandwich, made with10-hour smoked brisket and served with coleslaw, was delicious and I understood why this restaurant has become one of the most popular new upbeat spots in Christchurch city, selling out on most days.
Heading back to The George Hotel, I passed by the Christchurch Art Gallery and decided to have a look inside. I’m really glad I did! As the public art gallery of the city, entry was free of charge which is a great way to encourage attendance by both residents and visitors. It’s the largest art institution in the South Island and home to one of New Zealand's most important public art collections. Located in the heart of the city's Cultural Precinct, their Māori name, Te Puna o Waiwhetū, relates to the life-giving properties of the artesian spring upon which the gallery is built and their role in contributing to the cultural wellbeing of the community. It’s a very different kind of art museum whose focus is on investing in the creation of new work, from its inception through to its potential acquisition, and representing the Gallery’s program in a new integrated way that reflects Christchurch now. From its own substantial traditional art collection to the showcasing of ultra modern work, I found the Christchurch Art Gallery rather captivating and unexpected.
It was time to check out after returning to the hotel and I thoroughly enjoyed my fifteen-minute chauffeur ride to the Christchurch Airport, thanks to Emirates Airlines. (It’s amazing how one gets used to being pampered). First Class check-in was speedy and, once I’d completed the security and passport control formalities, it was time to visit the lounge. Emirates contracted with the Manaia Lounge at Christchurch which was located in the International Departures area opposite Gate 29. This is also a Priority Pass Lounge with a fairly rudimentary food and beverage selection as well as showers and free Wi-fi. They did offer a variety of local New Zealand beers and wines, plus standard spirits at a self-service bar.The lounge had plenty of seating areas in an open concept, consisting of a main dining area composed of individual and community tables, plus casual sitting areas with sofas and chairs. These were welcoming and provided a quiet place for me to relax and thankfully, time passed quickly. Soon, First and Business Class boarding was announced for my Emirates flight to Sydney.
Settling back into Seat 2K in the First Class cabin of the aircraft was like coming home again since I knew exactly where everything was and exactly what to expect. The seat itself was well padded and very comfortable to lounge and sleep in, though not super wide, at just twenty-three inches. This is mostly due to the fact that much of the seat width is dominated by the minibar, which contained a variety of soda, juices, and both sparking and still water. While this was a relatively short flight of three hours and forty minutes covering a distance of some 1,342 miles, Emirates provided their expected superlative amenities and service. I thoroughly reviewed my experiences with the airline in two previous posts, My Emirates Experience and To Auckland on the Emirates A380, so I won’t repeat what I covered earlier, but only mention other things about this flight that I think you’d like to know.
In the first place, Emirates was operating the A380 on this route which would proceed to Dubai after connecting in Sydney, Australia’s largest city. This is a truly massive aircraft that’s completed over 800,000 flights carrying more than 300 million passengers since its initial entry into service with Singapore Airlines back in 2007. In addition to its size, the A380 incorporates a plethora of new technology that should be of interest to any aviation enthusiast. As just one example, the A380's main instrument panel incorporates eight identical and interchangeable liquid crystal display units, providing a primary flight display, navigation display, two multi-function displays with cursor control provided through a trackball, an engine warning display and a systems display. The larger display size provides increased perspective for pilots and allows for enhanced presentation modes such as the vertical situation awareness function that presents a “vertical cut” of the aircraft trajectory incorporating flight path, terrain and weather information. The size and comfort of the aircraft might be appreciated by the passengers but the innovative technology is certainly appreciated by the pilots flying in the cockpit.
The beverage selections on this flight were just as extensive as those offered on my previous long-haul journeys. While we were only given four choices for the main entrée instead of five, it still provided an outstanding selection.This is certainly far greater than what most carriers extend to their Business or First Class flyers. Abundance of choice is another valued hallmark of the Emirates premium experience, regardless of the shorter scheduled flight time - in this case, under four hours. Emirates is the number one partner of Dom Pérignon Champagne and the 2009 vintage was featured on my flight from New Zealand that night. The wines on offer were also exceptional and included two French Whites, a 2016 Sauvignon Blanc and a Burgundy Mercury Blanc of the same vintage. A 2016 Chardonnay from Western Australia and a 2017 Riesling from South Australia rounded out the whites from which to select. Five different red wines were on the menu, including a 2006 and 2009 French Bordeaux, a 2011 Bordeaux Blend from New Zealand, and two 2015 Shiraz Wines from Australia. After dinner, I particularly enjoyed the chocolate praline mousse cake, as well as the assortment of fresh cut fruit and the cheese board. It was an excellent ending to another excellent Emirates in-flight dinner!
We landed on time about 9:40 in the evening. Customs formalities were quick indeed as there were only two other international flights landing at that particular hour, a Singapore Airlines flight and an Etihad Airways flight from Abu Dhabi. Once I entered the arrivals hall, it was easy to locate the Emirates office to check-in for my chauffeur drive into the city. The airline had taken delivery of new Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate cars, one of which provided my transportation as a First Class passenger. I had booked into the Four Seasons Hotel Sydney for a three-night stay and it only took us less than twenty minutes to make the ten mile journey. I’ll tell you all about my stay in Sydney in a future post.
Until next time…safe travels.
Always good to read your descriptions of "how the other half live" 😁