Perfect time to fly

I recently left the boat, and it was probably the best day to do so, as we had beautiful clear skies, though with negative temperatures — -7 degrees, to be exact. We even had frost in the morning, which was a bit of a surprise.

The trip was going to be 32 33 hours; Air New Zealand added an extra hour, which was a bit disappointing as I quite like to fly with them.
Why am I in New Zealand?

To sit some exams and also to handle some other matters I can't quite tell you about just yet.

When I left, there was ice on the water, and the dinghy struggled to get through. But as soon as we reached the main channel, we were free and could pick up speed. @Konquest and my brother dropped me off, and I was on my way. The airport was another 10 minutes away, and the scenery along the way was stunning.

Check-in was a bit complicated, but I still made it. I won’t bore you with the details, as most of you have probably had the same issues. As soon as we got in the air, all the mountains were visible, and I’ve never seen them so clearly.

![20241021_132904.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/glideglobe/244o3JPsWzuYdH1Z6g8KhXGA5JeSWdghasLcNbAg89MSsaCwWq7WUNDL

After a quick stop in Ketchikan, which is basically the last town before the Alaskan border, we were off again to Seattle Airport. Let me tell you, it was busy! Even at 5 o’clock in the evening, the airport was absolute chaos. The biggest problem was that nobody had checked in their luggage, which meant no space above the seats for carry-on bags. This delayed several planes until someone volunteered to give up their carry-on.

I’m not complaining, as I only had a backpack and a bum bag — that’s all I needed. After a one-hour wait, we were off again across the Pacific Ocean in a small plane. I’ve flown a lot, but I’ve never in my life felt so much turbulence. Sometimes it would wake me up; it felt like I was on a boat in rough weather. I wasn’t scared, but it certainly meant no sleep!

After a 5-hour flight from Seattle to Hawaii, I had an 11-hour layover. Being jet-lagged, I obviously didn’t get any sleep, but I could at least have a look around Honolulu. I’ve come to the conclusion that I wouldn’t want to live in Hawaii. Some of you might argue that you can get used to the climate, and yes, you can — but do I need to?