It is currently 4:17PM on Tuesday March 8, 2005, in Auckland New Zealand, and the Transit Marathon to get this journey started is now complete.
After leaving for Calgary on Saturdy, and getting no sleep in the hotel, we were up at the ripe time of 4am Sunday morning (March 6) to prepare for our 6:30am flight out. After a 3 hour trip to Dallas (yes Dallas), and another 3 hour trip to Los Angeles, we kicked around for a few hours, before leaving Sunday night at 8:30pm. We then crossed the Date Line, and arrived at 6:00am on Tuesday March 8! Therefore, March 7 never existed for me.
The total transit time was 28 hours, and starting that stretch off on no sleep is even worse. But the 12 hour flight across the Pacific was actually the best part of the trek. Flying Qantas apparently meant that we were fed well, and every seat had its own tv to watch movies, listen to music, or play games. Pretty neat. I got the added bonus of the seat beside me cancelling last minute, and having some room to stretch out and sleep.
Arriving into town so early, the best thing to do is stay awake and adjust to the new timezone as soon as possible. The abundance of warmth and sunshine is making this very easy, and as far as I am concerned, Winter is now dead.
Auckland is a pretty neat place so far. We have walked around a little, and the style is rather ecclectic. There are older buildings, which are in good condition, and there are newer buildings, which are very well-fashioned. And as for adjusting to the timezone, I will have to wait and see tomorrow how well that worked for me.