From Down Under

We have arrived at our first destination in New Zealand, Owen River Lodge, near Murchison on the South Island.  We made the trip from Los Angeles to Auckland, NZ (North Island) last night on a Boeing 777 in 11 hours and 40 minutes.  We lifted off from LAX at 10PM PST and touched down in Auckland at 6:40 AM NZDT this morning.  We started out at 28,000 ft and later climbed to 35,000 as our fuel burned off.  The highest ground speed that I saw was 624mph on my personal monitor.  We had "sky sofa" seats that recline and make into a pretty decent bed.  I slept about 6-6.5 hours on the way down.  Each sky sofa has its own music and movie selections.  We also had our own electrical outlets, ipod plug-ins, etc.  It was a very civilized way to travel.  The Air New Zealand crew served a "lovely" meal as the Kiwis say.  The service was superb.  

At 10:30 AM NZDT we boarded another flight on a DeHavilland turbo-prop for the 70 minute flight to Nelson, NZ (South Island).  From there we had a 90 minute drive to our lodge.  We did stop on the way at an authentic NZ pub for a fish & chips lunch.  It was great.  I am told that the beers and the wines here are superb.  

The first day of fishing is tomorrow.  My guide's name is Greg.  I drew him because we are both very hard of hearing.

One piece of bad news - The SPOT Tracker feed to the blog blew up today.  It worked fine before we left LAX.  I have a hunch it is because I am logging on from NZ.  The SPOT Tracker is working flawlessly, but the feed to the blog is fighting me.  I think that as soon as I get some sleep, the problem will be temporary.  

I hope that we have lots of fish tales to regale you with tomorrow evening.  The Wheatleys are out in front of the lodge on the river now trying to draw first blood.

Introduction of 3rd & 4th Anglers

From the Koru Club Lounge (Air New Zealand) at LAX.  Whiling away the remaining hours until flight time at the "club".  Charlie Wheatley (right) and Chip Wheatley (left) arrived from Maryland via Philadelphia Monday evening.

Greetings From LAX

I am staying at the Westin Hotel - LAX here right next to the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).  In fact looking out my hotel window to the south I have a perfect view of what must be today's preferred runway for commuter and general aviation aircraft.  As you can imagine it is a busy place.  Luckily this hotel is very well built and I don't hear any of the nearby aircraft operations.

All went well today after I got away from the "black ice" of Indianapolis.  Fortunately I had stayed at a motel near the Indianapolis airport last night and dodged what had to be a very messy commute.  I have to thank Barb for that one - I probably wouldn't have thought of it myself.  The only black ice problem that I had this morning was walking across the hotel parking lot to leave some things in the car that I have parked there for the duration of this trip.

One of today's flight attendants said that 32 people did not show up for the flight due to weather conditions.  My seatmates - a young couple from Fountain County, Indiana headed to Las Vegas to get married later today - said that they had a lot of problems driving from their home to the airport.  Once we got moving US Air was early into Phoenix International and on time to LAX.

None of my fishing partners are here yet.  The Wheatley's are due at LAX at 7:15 PM PST from Maryland via Philadelphia on  US Air.  Gene Henry will be flying here from Arkansas via Dallas early Tuesday morning, arriving about 10AM PST on American. Could it be that the Eagle Creek Coffee Shop's own Captain Mike will pilot him here?  Could be, but I have never heard him speak of flying the Rogers, AR to Dallas route or a Dallas to LAX route.  After we all have rendezvoused all we have left is to patiently wait for our 9:15PM departure from LAX to Auckland, NZ. 

Journey Has Begun.....Well, Sort of!

The Journey Has Begun......Well, Sort of!!        In the spirit of "the first mile is the hardest", I have completed the first 20 miles.  I am staying tonight in a hotel near the Indianapolis airport in order to get 45 minutes extra sleep in the morning for the pre-dawn takeoff for Los Angeles via Phoenix.  Also, this hotel offers up to 2 weeks free parking with a one night's stay.  So, it was a good deal.

A much bigger leg of the trip tomorrow.  Talk to you from Los Angeles.

Final Preparations

More Preparation - Fly Lines

Trip Preparations - Boots