When I first put my name up for my school ski trip, I had no idea what to expect. I was so excited to be spending nine days in a beautiful country with around 35 of my fellow classmates and four awesome teachers. Seeing snow and skiiing for the first time made the trip even more inviting. I was excited for sure, and judging from previous people's experiences this trip was one that would not be forgotten. So, at 103 days to go, we started to countdown until the day that we departed, our excitement mounting as the time went on. Originally the plan was to catch the OOL-ZQN flight on Friday but due to safety concerns in Christchurch and a day off school the Department of Education cut our downday in Christchurch and wanted us to fly on the Saturday. This meant OOL-SYD-ZQN, which is fine by me - an extra flight is great! So the final itinerary consisted of DJ500 down to SYD then NZ832 across the Tasman, followed by JQ190 from CHC on the way back. We would be skiiing in three different ski fields; Coronet Peak near Queenstown, Cardrona near Wanaka and Mt. Hutt near Methven, with various activities including jetboating and luging along the way. Yes, this was certainly going to be a trip of a lifetime.
DJ500
DATE: 17th September, 2011
AIRCRAFT: Boeing 737-8FE
REGISTRATION: VH-VUL "
Ballina-Rina Blue"
SECTOR: Gold Coast (OOL) – Sydney (SYD)
SEAT: 19F
ETD/ATD (Gate, Local): 0600/0600
ETA/ATA (Gate, Local): 0730/0720
4:30am: Buzzing off an Iced Coffee from yesterday's school canteen milk sale, I arrive at OOL to be greeted by bleary-eyed friends and their parents awaiting to check-in. We take some photos of each other, laugh, and finally, when we start to group up at the counter, say last-minute farewells to loved ones. Check-in takes a while (of course, with nearly forty of us), and when I was called I was hoping so much for a window seat (we were arranged by alphabetical order of last names).
19F - WINDOW SEAT! Ye-yeah! We go through security and I see VUL waiting patiently for the flight to Sydney. Too bad it wasn't a newer 738 but I was definitely still happy with it! When the call for boarding was heard, we started to queue up to head out across the tarmac and into the aircraft. The sun was just above the horizon and bathing the airfield in a beautiful golden glow as we found our seats.
Soon enough, we were pushed back for a RWY 14 departure with the engines starting up as the safety demonstration was er...demonstrated. :wink: After a quick and rather bumpy taxi to the threshold we lined up and took off into a beautiful blue sky.
See the takeoff video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRdlbfkxwIw
We banked towards the right and set course for SYD.
The full-scale Mt. Warning, an ex-volcano, existed up to this point many years ago.
I got comfy and started to watch the Simpsons on Live2Air, flicking back to the airshow display every now and then. Only minor turbulence was felt during the ascent and cruise, and before I knew it we had started to descend.
Starting to descend.
Airshow display.
Since I had a cold, I knew I would be badly affected by the cabin pressure, and, sure enough, my right ear would not pop. Trying to keep my mind off of that slight drawback, I watched the NSW countryside roll by as we were vectored in for a RWY 16L approach. A Dash 8 joined final for 16R as we were heading for 16L, so we had a pretty cool parallel approach...we left the slower Dash 8 eventually though.
After a smooth touchdown we took the Tango Four exit and taxied back to the terminal, passing the mound as we did so.
The mound!
We docked at Gate 56 and after disembarking rushed over to the Gate 37 transfer lounge to await the arrival of our bus to take us across to the international terminal. I was looking forward to this as to me it pretty much meant an unofficial airside tour of Sydney Airport! After waiting a while we got on the bus and off we went, holding for passing traffic every now and then. Due to reflections I couldn't get many good shots, but here they are all the same.
REX Saab 340B VH-ZLC
Managed to get a shot of Virgin Australia's newest 738 VH-YIB as she was being towed to the bay
Domestic ramp
Qantas line-up
OEF parked in the Qantas Jetbase
Passing the massive A380!
Passing the cargo terminal: here is an Atlas 744
Air Niugini Boeing 767-300ER P2-ANA