Here we are relaxing in the Koru lounge at Auckland International Airport after an eventful check in. Those beverages were well deserved! We were all sorted and ready to check in. No stress, bags packed, correct weight, early to the airport even an hour before final check in. Piece of Cake!
However, a pesky immigration rule threw a wrench in our plans. Adam needed a ticket out of Canada, his USA Visa was not enough. Since we are planning to drive across the border into the USA, we couldn't prove he'd leave Canada. After a hurried chat with the supervisor with 40 min to go before check in closes, we were told that we needed to buy a fully refundable ticket from Canada to NZ (which as it turns out is not actually fully refundable! ie drop about $1500 on a ticket and eat about $400 of that for the non refundable part). I asked him if a reservation for the ferry would be ok and after a bit of humming-and-hawing he said it would be.
So, a quick phone call to my mom in Canada (LUCKILY she was home and near her computer!) she booked us a ferry ticket saying that Adam was headed to Port Angeles in Washington State. Great! But now, we needed the confirmation email. After quite a while we managed. I had to run through the airport, dodging other travelers, to an internet kiosk to forward the email to Air NZ for printing. In the last few minutes, we got it all sorted out. Cost less than 100 for something we would have needed to do anyways!
Then, we checked in, got decent seats, said our goodbyes and made our way to the Koru lounge. The gin and beer was needed!
As we write this, we're sitting in the Vancouver airport waiting for a quick flight to Comox.
Let the Adventure begin!
