The long trip down under...

On the 18th December SJ and I started our long trip to New Zealand and Australia. We caught an Emirates flight from Birmingham airport to Dubai (7 hours), then Dubai to Melbourne (13.5 hours) then on to Auckland (4 hours). The plane journey itself wasn't too bad. I guess after 8 or so hours on the plane you can't actually get any more uncomfortable...

Dubai airport is in a state of flux at the moment - they're building a dedicated Emirates terminal which basically means that our (Emirates) flight taxies to a stand around 5 miles from the airport terminal. We then have to catch a bus (along with every other flight) to the transfer terminal (along with every other flight) - needless to say, its rather busy...

I was quite disappointed with the Dubai duty-free...everyone raves about it but to be honest, I didn't see many bargains. A quick coffee and we're back on the plane...

The Melbourne stop was unanticipated as it was never mentioned on our ticket. As its not a plane change as such, they don't need to mention the stop. Not really a problem but it does add a few more hours onto the overall trip.

From Melbourne, its then straight onto Auckland...finally! We touch down after a bit of a bumpy landing and head out into the New Zealand sunshine!!