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New Zealand Travelog #25
WLG Airport - Mon, 15 Apr 2024, 1pm
This morning we flew out from Queenstown. And wouldn't you know it, the skies were finally clear. The whole fucking week has been clouds and rain, and now I see this from the top of the stairs boarding the jet:

Oh, and I finally saw 12,000' Mt. Cook today, too. Another thing that after two days of being clouded in, is finally visible today.

Unfortunately I only get to see it from the window of the aircraft as we fly over at 36,000', and even then only by leaning over my rowmate in the window seat (after asking politely!) to snap a picture.
Then, at Wellington Airport, I found that instead of flying an Airbus A320, I could have flown a giant eagle.

Yeah, there are a bunch of places in New Zealand cashing in on Lord of the Rings lore. The location sets were famously filmed in this country. I'm pretty sure they didn't use a 21st century airport as a location, though. But I guess if you're going to have people flying giant eagles around, the airport makes as much sense as a birds-of-prey center, and these birds might freak out the actual birds of prey.

Seeing Gandalf atop this giant eagle in the airport all I can think of now is his "You would not part an old man with his walking stick" line in the hall of Theoden with Wormwood's goons replaced by TSA agents.
WLG Airport - Mon, 15 Apr 2024, 1pm
This morning we flew out from Queenstown. And wouldn't you know it, the skies were finally clear. The whole fucking week has been clouds and rain, and now I see this from the top of the stairs boarding the jet:

Oh, and I finally saw 12,000' Mt. Cook today, too. Another thing that after two days of being clouded in, is finally visible today.

Unfortunately I only get to see it from the window of the aircraft as we fly over at 36,000', and even then only by leaning over my rowmate in the window seat (after asking politely!) to snap a picture.
Then, at Wellington Airport, I found that instead of flying an Airbus A320, I could have flown a giant eagle.

Yeah, there are a bunch of places in New Zealand cashing in on Lord of the Rings lore. The location sets were famously filmed in this country. I'm pretty sure they didn't use a 21st century airport as a location, though. But I guess if you're going to have people flying giant eagles around, the airport makes as much sense as a birds-of-prey center, and these birds might freak out the actual birds of prey.

Seeing Gandalf atop this giant eagle in the airport all I can think of now is his "You would not part an old man with his walking stick" line in the hall of Theoden with Wormwood's goons replaced by TSA agents.