Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

This last international flight segment was actually the first one booked because I found three business class seats on the same flight back from Brisbane.  I wanted to give D (the birthday girl) a treat since she usually flies economy and I was hoping that this would incentivize her to try to fly business class in the future but I'm not sure it worked.

When we arrived at the gate for our 10:10 AM flight our lovely bird was waiting for us, a Boeing 787-9.  D ended up getting selected for secondary screen but in the end she was able to be one of the first on board so I guess it worked out for her.

Brisbane Marriott - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

Our time Down Under was almost up.  We needed to position ourselves in Brisbane for our return flight, which departed around 10 AM.  We could have taken a very early shuttle from Mooloolaba directly to the airport but since I had a Marriott free night certificate available, we decided to visit the city on our last day.  The hotel doesn't have any rooms with three beds but we figured for one night we could handle it.  However, when we got up to our room we realized the beds weren't quite as large as Queen beds and there was really no way we could all be comfortable in this bedding configuration.  Fortunately C also had a free night certificate so the front desk was able to apply that to a king room across the hall.  Free is always great!  To be clear, we get these free night certificates after paying the annual fee on our Marriott credit cards.  But as long as the room is selling for more than $95 you're getting a deal when you use the certificate.

The hotel's footprint is not large but it has about 25 floors so it can handle a large number of guests. While this photo is of the front of the building, the entrance here is only for a quick pickup or drop-off.  If you need to park, the garage and valet service are available at the back of the hotel and down one level.

What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

Normally by the time we reach our last destination we're pretty tired.  We did do a lot of travelling on this trip but having a day of rest in Queenstown followed by several hours of bus rides the day after that meant we weren't as tired as we otherwise might have been.  We could not have asked for better weather in Mooloolaba: highs in the upper 70s to low 80s and nice warm breezes.

We arrived on a Saturday and, being a beach town, it was slightly more crowded than during the week.  We spent the first afternoon walking down the beach as far as we could and then walking back on the pathway above it.  There were lots of families out enjoying time together and plenty of people running, walking and biking in the area.

The public beach was pristine and not too crowded

These were right across from our condo.  Not conducive for swimming but violently gorgeous.

On Sunday we spent more time at the beach. D and I got in the ocean.  It was a little cool but not too bad.  The waves were pretty spicy and we had to keep checking to be sure we were in the lifeguarded area between the flags.  We spent the rest of the evening checking out the shops along the Esplanade below our hotel.  Late that night there was a thunderstorm out over the ocean and it was pretty spectacular from our viewpoint.  We also watched a little World Cup rugby.  We were learning to really enjoy it!

Australia Zoo

This was my third trip to Australia but the first time I'd been anywhere close to this part of Queensland and Australia Zoo so I wasn't going to miss my chance.  C and D had no interest in going, so they took themselves off for a beach hike and I called an Uber to take me to the zoo, which was only about a half-hour drive away.  I'd loved the original Crocodile Hunter shows and had been at the Great Barrier Reef only a couple of months before Steve Irwin lost his life there.  I'd lost touch with what was going on with the family until reading that his daughter Bindi had gotten engaged in the summer of 2019 and it was hard to believe they were grown up enough for that already!  (Incidentally, Bindi was due to be married this April but when COVID-19 restrictions kicked in, she and Chandler moved up the ceremony and got married on my birthday in late March.  So nice of them to make it easy for me to remember!)

My first impression of the zoo: if you didn't know about Steve's accident, you'd think he might be around the next corner.  He's on the signage, on pamphlets and in the Crocoseum - the arena where the croc shows are held - there are videos and interviews being played non-stop.  Since I returned I've read that he and wife Terri had already built out a 10-year plan for the zoo and that it's still a driving force in what they do today.  They have several behind-the-scenes tours that cost extra.  I didn't take them because I was concerned about running out of time but if I ever get to return I will definitely do that.  The wildlife hospital has helped over 90,000 animals since its inception and had its hands full recently with the terrible wildfires in the area.  They even had to quickly build an addition to their fruit bat rehabilitation area because so many had been displaced.  Then, of course, the COVID-19 virus shut them down for weeks on end in the fall, depriving them of any income though fortunately they were ultimately able to receive some government help.  Over 100 staff members worked to care for the 1200+ animals who didn't know anything about a shutdown.

Anyway, here are some of the animals I saw.  You can follow what's going on in the zoo with Animal Planet's "Crikey, It's The Irwins".  If you've seen that you may recognize some of the critters below:

Rhinoceros Iguanas get their name from the extra-large head.  The males use it to defend territory so the bigger the head, the bigger the territory he'll have.

American Alligators a long way from home

Aldabran Tortoises can live for a hundred years.  Tortoises have flat feet while turtles have flipper feet.

This blue-tongued skink was just one of the animals available for meet & greets.

This wedge-tailed hawk is quite the beauty!

I learned it's difficult to catch river otters in one place for long enough to photograph them

Perentie goannas are among the largest monitor lizards. That tail carries a powerful whack!

Ever heard of a Binturong? Me neither. It has a prehensile tail like some primates but is a carnivore.

A brolga is a large bird that likes to dance as part of its mating ritual.

This emu demonstrates how well he blends in with the surrounding area

Aussie icon #1: the koala. Did you know they can sleep for up to 20 hours a day?!

Aussie icon #2: the kangaroo.  There's a large portion of the park called Roo Heaven where Roos and Wallabies roam free and visitors walk among them, pet them and can buy special food to fee them

No trip to Australia Zoo is complete without seeing the crocodile feeding show in the Crocoseum.  On the day I was there Mick, who's a croc trainer-in-training, was conducting the show under the watchful eye of Toby, who's been at the zoo for over 15 years, since before Steve's death.

Mick keeps Mossman the croc looking at his hand for food

Now it's Toby's turn to feed Mossman.  Did you ever realize a croc's legs were that long?

Mossman may weigh 1100 pounds but he's 12 feet long so jumping even half of his body length lets him reach fairly high!

Laughing kookaburras are so cute

Bubbles (left) and Cuddles, the macaws

Ring-tailed lemurs are another species it's hard to photograph because they don't stay still for long!

I love how meerkat groups post sentries who look out for danger

No telling what you'll find running wild in Australia!  This little ripper and dozens like him are everywhere.

Sumatran tigers are the smallest of the tiger breeds.  You can pay to do a meet & greet with one of them.

Finding a sleeping wombat is the easiest way to get their photo.  They're pretty active and move surprisingly quickly.

My last stop was the African savanna area.  You can't get really close to the animals here (unless you pay to feed the giraffes) but they look like they enjoy their big, wide open enclosure (and yes, that sounds like an oxymoron).

Rhino mom Caballe.  You can see a little of her baby, Carrie, behind her head.

Zebra pals Spartacus (left) and Lucas.  Does that make them Zebros?

The giraffe family, led by big guy Forrest.

While I was waiting for the in-zoo shuttle back to the entrance, I saw this staff member with one of the cheetah boys.  While the zoo does not have a cheetah exhibit, they do participate in a cheetah conservation program and have 3-4 they keep behind the scenes.  You can do a meet & greet with these guys as well.

Hello gorgeous!

Final Thoughts

Mooloolaba was wonderful.  We couldn't have asked for better weather so if you fancy a visit, late October is a great time to do it.  Australia Zoo was all I'd hoped for and I wished I'd done more research ahead of time as I'd have appreciated certain things more.  I know this area of the country can be very hot in the summer but we picked a great time to visit and I'd love to go back sometime.

Oceans Mooloolaba - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

On these trips with my friends we tend to book them as run-run-run-ahhhh trips, meaning we spend a lot of energy for the first three quarters of the trip and then we relax for the last portion.  With that in mind we headed to the Sunshine Coast of Australia, which is the area just north of Brisbane on the east coast.  There weren't a lot of hotels in this area where we could use traditional hotel points.  What we were able to do was to use Ultimate Rewards (UR) points earned by our Chase cards (Sapphire Reserve, Sapphire Preferred, Freedom Unlimited, Freedom) and book through their travel portal using UR points.  Don't have a card that earns this type of points?  The same property was available using Amex Membership Rewards and Citi's ThankYou Points.

Our lodging for this portion of the trip was Oceans Mooloolaba which is basically a high-rise condo complex.  There are a dozen or more of these type of buildings in Mooloolaba, which is a resort town.  They're all lined up together on Esplande facing the beach with retail and food services on the ground floor and condos above.  This is very handy in that you just come downstairs and you can find almost anything you need nearby.  While the grocery store doesn't face the water, it's a very short walk out the back door.

Our first project was learning how to properly pronounce the town's name.  Before leaving the US we'd guessed it was moo-loo-LA-baa but we guessed incorrectly.  It's pronounce muh-LOO-lu-buh and I had to drill that through my head a number of times before I got it right.

What We Saw In Auckland

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

If I had to plan this trip again I'd do things differently.  I made an assumption that we'd pretty much have to fly in and out of Auckland to get to and from Australia.  While it's true there is a bigger selection of flights out of AKL, we could have flown directly from Sydney to Christchurch or Queenstown on the way down and that might have been smarter.  But we booked our outbound flights into Auckland.  When we started looking at how to get from either Christchurch or Queenstown to the Sunshine Coast sometimes there was only one non-stop per day or we'd have to go via Auckland anyway.  So we decided to do the one-night stop at the Holiday Inn on the way down and two nights at the Avani Metropolis on the way back.

Before we left the US we'd booked a tour that took us outside the city to do some hiking, biking and beach-viewing.  While in Queenstown we realized we'd never received confirmation from the tour company.  We emailed several times and finally enlisted the help of the concierge at the Hilton Queenstown.  We learned that the tour company had gone out of business!  We'd booked through Viator and they refunded our money quickly but we were not pleased to see that the tour was still listed for sale!

So all of that to say that we arrived in Auckland with no plan.  On top of that it was extremely windy on the day we landed.  As it threatened to rain all afternoon and evening, we stayed fairly close to the hotel while doing a bit of walking around the area.

The next day it was slightly less overcast but still gray outside.  As we looked for a breakfast spot we walked right past the Sky Tower, the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere at 1076 feet high.  It was built in the mid-1990s and although it has a bungee jump-type adventure available, we decided to pass.

Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

We flew back to Auckland for our last stop in New Zealand because it had the most flights each day to Australia and we didn't want to take a chance on getting stuck if there were flight cancellations.  We chose the Avani Metropolis Hotel as our base, located very close to the central business district.  Once again I couldn't find a hotel where we had points that had rooms with three beds.  Avani is a hotel chain with a loyalty program, just not one I was familiar with.  We charged this stay to my Barclays ArrivalPlus card and then used their own points to "erase" the charge.

The CBD is about a 30-minute drive from the airport during times of no traffic so it probably took us a little longer than that to reach it as our flight landed about 1:15 PM and by the time we got our bags and an Uber I think it was about 2:30 PM when we reached the check-in desk.  We weren't surprised our room wasn't ready but we waited less than 30 minutes before they allowed us to check in.  We were given two card keys and told that if we lost one there was an $80 charge to replace it.  Wow.  I'm not sure why this is so different from other hotels using card keys but I'm just glad that didn't become an issue!

What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

This was my second visit to Queenstown as I'd visited with our ski council back in 2006.  Back then we'd stayed in town and taken day trips out to a couple of resorts.  We had better accommodation this time around but the weather just didn't want to cooperate.  It was cool during our stay and downright chilly at night.  We really only spent any time in Queenstown proper on the afternoon we arrived.  We enjoyed walking around the little town, seeing the sights and souvenir hunting.  As the next day was expected to be rainy, we arranged a tour of Doubtful Sound for the day after that.  When I'd visited previously there was a giant kiwi statue near the wharf but it appears to be gone.  However I found a couple of other fun things in town:

At left, in the US we cross the street at a crosswalk but elsewhere in the world it's known as a zebra crossing, though not usually so literally!  At right, the kiwi is gone but this is a Moa which could grow to 3 meters tall and grow to over 550 pounds.  Talk about the real Big Bird!

Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

When I'm looking for hotels that offer three beds it's typically hard to find - and even harder to find them in hotels that use points that we collect.  Hilton has two hotels in Queenstown, including one that had 2- and 3-bedroom units.  The downside is they're both across Lake Wakatipu (wak-uh-TIP-oo) from the actual town of Queenstown.  On the other hand that meant it was just minutes from the airport so it wasn't all bad!  We took a shared shuttle from the airport and were the first stop.  It was less than a 10-minute drive, which was great.

What We Saw In Christchurch

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

We really didn't have a plan for Christchurch except that D knew she wanted to do some hiking and we had a vague idea of things that were close to us.  It was raining the day we arrived and while we got settled into our hotel room.  Fortunately it dried up that evening and we walked down the street to Sun Dog Diner for dinner.  Our American waiter gave us lots of suggestions and even recommended a hike, which was something D really wanted to do.  We kept his list of recommendations and ended up seeing a number of items on it.  We were fortunate that we had absolutely fantastic weather for the rest of our stay.

Hiking from Godley Head to Taylors Mistake

Christchurch is about two-thirds of the way up the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island.  Godley Park is a bit of a peninsula that marks the entrance into Lyttleton Harbour.  This hike takes you along the coastline and has beautiful views.  We took an Uber to reach the trailhead.  While the trail can be hiked in either direction, I'm glad we started here as there seemed to be a bit more downhill terrain than uphill.

New Zealand's South Island
(from Google Maps)

Greater Christchurch Area - park is the little green area at bottom right
(from Google Maps)

Godley Head to Taylors Mistake Hike
(from Google Maps)

The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

When we do these trips we usually try to find points-friendly lodging to help us save money.  However, trying to find any room with three beds is always a challenge.  As I searched Christchurch for a place to stay, all the places where we could use points for a suite and a rollaway bed only offered a king bed instead of two twins or queens.  Using Trip Advisor as a starting point I narrowed down a list of places that would seem to suit us.  D (the birthday girl) ended up selecting The Pavilions.  It's not super-fancy but is a Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence winner.  We reserved a two-bedroom unit which was basically a small apartment and included a kitchen and living room.

Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch, NZ
(photo credit: pavilionshotel.co.nz)

Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

During our trip planning we'd initially planned to start our time in New Zealand in Auckland so we booked that city as the destination for our flights from the US.  As our plans changed over time and we decided to start in Christchurch we decided to spend a night in Auckland rather than jumping right on a domestic flight as we had no idea whether or not our flights would all be on time (they were) or if our luggage would make it with us (it did).  That meant we needed to find an airport-area hotel to spend one night.

I looked high and low to try to find a single room with three beds and had no luck at all.  My IHG credit card comes with a free night for hotels up to 40K points per night.  We booked one room using that certificate and a second using points.  When my card renewed in July and I got another certificate, we canceled the points reservation and used that second certificate for rooms at the Holiday Inn Auckland Airport.

Holiday Inn Auckland Airport Main Entrance

Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

In some ways this is almost like a domestic flight since it was blocked at 3h 7m - about the same as the Memphis - Los Angeles non-stop - but this was a flight between countries and the aircraft was an internationally configured A330 so I'll give a brief review.

Qantas 145 SYD-AKL
Airbus A330-300
Seat: 4E (Business Class, Aisle, Center Section)
Scheduled Departure: 1135 (Actual: 1150)
Scheduled Arrival: 1640 (Actual: 1647)
Flight time: 3h 7m (Actual: 2h 57m)

We boarded through door 2L and C and I turned left into the business cabin while D turned right back to economy.  C and I had seats across the aisle from each other.  We were offered our choice of pre-departure beverages and had our choice of champagne and still or sparkling water.  Compared to the older aircraft we'd flown to Sydney, this plane felt much more modern, as it should, since it was newer.

Qantas A330 Business Class Cabin

Qantas International Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

C and I arrived in Sydney and were among only a very few folks who were not entering Australia.  That meant the transit security line was nice and short and we were through in no time flat.  The transit security station is down in the bowels of the airport so from there we took an escalator up to the main floor of the international terminal where there are all kinds of shops and restaurants.

From there we took another escalator up one more level and walked past the Qantas First Class Lounge into their Business Class Lounge.  We weren't the very first folks there that morning but we were among the first.  The lounge is very large, spreading out in both directions from the entry with large windows all along the back wall.  It was nice to see the sun after being enclosed on the plane all night and I loved having all the open space after being cooped up with people for so long!

In such a large space there were a number of different seating types: some in groups of comfortable chairs, some arranged around a table, some looking out the window, etc.  I was surprised not all seats had power outlets but hopefully next time there's an update to the lounge that will get corrected.

Qantas International Business Class Lounge, Sydney

Qantas International Business Class Lounge, Sydney

It was now after 7 AM and the breakfast spread was all set up.  Having just eaten on the plane I wasn't particularly hungry but I did have a look to see what was available. C and I each had at least one cup of tea and a little something to nibble on.

Qantas International Business Class Lounge Buffet

Qantas International Business Class Lounge Buffet

Qantas International Business Class Lounge Buffet

Qantas International Business Class Lounge Buffet

Qantas International Business Class Lounge Buffet

Qantas International Business Class Lounge
Hot Buffet Choices

Before eating I was thrilled to be able to take a shower in one of the private bathrooms.  It felt so good after such a long time traveling.  After eating I used some of the provided toiletries to brush my teeth which also felt great.

As you'd expect, the lounge began to fill up as the morning progressed and by 8:30 AM we left to go down to the concourse where we'd meet D, whose plane had just landed.

Final Thoughts

The lounge is rather large though I would imagine it could get quite busy at certain times of day.  I loved all the natural light and appreciated the number of different seating configurations.  I didn't really sample the food and the spread wasn't humongous but it was a step above adequate.  I really loved being able to shower and brush my teeth after traveling halfway around the world, which was the best part of all.

Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

I was looking forward to this flight not just because of the destination but because it may very well be the last time I get to fly the Queen of the Skies, the Boeing 747.  As I mentioned in the intro post I paid 80K American Airlines miles + $28.20 in taxes but this included four flight segments: Memphis to Phoenix to San Francisco to Sydney to Auckland.  That's over 10,600 flight miles for one low price.  If you value those AA miles at 1.4 cents each that equates to almost $1150.  Considering AA wants over $4800 for a similar ticket for next October I'd say that's a bargain!

While my initial ticket had me arriving in San Francisco about 3 hours before the Qantas flight departed, that made me a little nervous cutting it so close as I knew there are often delays at SFO.  I kept hoping AA would open up award flights in domestic first class through either Dallas/Fort Worth or Chicago so that I wouldn't have to fly a regional jet to Phoenix, but they never did, so I ended up choosing to leave Memphis at 7:30 AM knowing I'd have a super-long layover.  Fortunately, as long as your award flight has the same origin and destination cities, American will allow you to change dates or routing at no charge.  When my flight from Phoenix to San Francisco was delayed due to fog at SFO, I was glad I'd made the switch.

Our flight was scheduled to depart at 9:25 PM and both C and I had arrived before 1:30 PM so we had a lot of time to kill.  We'd discussed going to a nearby mall for a movie but there wasn't anything playing that we wanted to see.  In the end we just explored the airport awhile before making our way to the international terminal.  We were disappointed that there was no way to get over there in the secured area, which meant we had to go through the security checkpoint again when we got there.  The good news was that our checked bags transferred automatically so we didn't have to wait for the Qantas counter to open.  That meant the security line was much shorter than it would have been once folks originating in SFO got to the airport.

Qantas B747-400
(photo courtesy qantas.com)

A Trip Down Under 2019

A Trip Down Under 2019
Qantas 747 Business Class San Francisco - Sydney
Qantas Business Class Lounge, Sydney Airport
Qantas A330 Business Class Sydney - Auckland
Holiday Inn Auckland Airport - Review
The Pavilions Hotel, Christchurch - Review
What We Saw In Christchurch
Hilton Queenstown Resort and Spa - Review
What We Saw In Queenstown including Doubtful Sound Tour
Avani Metropolis Hotel, Auckland - Review
What We Saw In Auckland
Oceans Mooloolaba - Review
What We Saw On The Sunshine Coast
Brisbane Marriott - Review
Qantas 787 Business Class Brisbane - Los Angeles

My big trip for 2019 was two weeks Down Under and once again pals D and C were with me.  D had a milestone birthday in 2019 so she selected the destination. We spent most of our time in New Zealand but ended up on the Sunshine Coast of Australia for a little beach time at the end.
Getting to Australia and New Zealand in premium cabins are some of the most difficult flights to find, so we made sure we were flexible with our dates.  In mid-January I found three business class award tickets from Brisbane to Los Angeles on Qantas.  Brisbane is the closest airport with flights to the US from our beach destination so that was perfect.  We snagged those seats before we even had tickets to get us there!  These flights were on Wednesday, October 30th.  Cost: 80K American Airlines miles and $81.83 per ticket.

About two weeks later, I saw two business class award seats open up from San Francisco to Sydney.  C (who lives in Chicago) and I grabbed those.  D (who's in Los Angeles) would book her economy flight on AA through the Chase Ultimate Rewards (UR) shopping portal, allowing her to use her UR points for 1.25 cents apiece.  We could all meet up in Sydney and catch the same flight over to Auckland together.  Cost: 80K AA miles and $28.20 per ticket for the business class seats.

Our longhaul flights: Green = outbound flights, Blue = return flights

At this point we didn't really have a plan as to what we were doing in New Zealand and we actually went quite a few months without locking in hotels.  But as spring turned to summer we knew we needed to start working on that.  We knew we wanted to visit Auckland, Christchurch and Queenstown and figured we'd work our way down the country, visiting the cities in that order.  However, when we started looking at flights from NZ to the Sunshine Coast of Australia it seemed that from Christchurch and Queenstown there was typically only one non-stop per day so that if something went wrong and that flight got cancelled, we'd get into the Sunshine Coast much later than originally planned.  In the end we decided to start our trip for real in Christchurch, go down to Queenstown and then back up to Auckland and from there fly to Australia.  But by this point we'd already booked our flights into Auckland from the US and didn't want to pay to change our tickets.

Short haul flights: each color represents a separate ticket

While our intra-NZ flights were all pretty short, we decided to do this instead of renting a car for a couple of reasons.  First, none of us were keen to drive on the other side of the road, even though we'd done that before.  Second, the flights were cheap - all under $110 USD - and were faster than driving.  For example, in Queenstown we mentioned to a waiter that we'd just arrived from Christchurch and she asked if we'd driven the six hours.  Nope, the flight was only an hour.  New Zealand highways are often just two lanes and wind through the countryside so away from the cities you don't find the super-highways that exist in the US.  Many of the flights between cities are single-cabin planes on full-size jets like Airbus A320s so there are a lot of folks choosing flying over driving in the country.

Final Thoughts

This trip included over 23,000 miles of flying and 12 flight segments on five airlines which is more than either my 2015 trip to Australia and Fiji or my 2017 trip to China and Tokyo.  Perhaps the most amazing statistic? My checked bag didn't get lost and was never even late!