On The Road to New Zealand – A Jetstar Flight Commentary From Sydney, Australia



This post may contain affiliate links that I earn a small commission from at no cost to you. Please see my disclosure page for information.

We finally got to go on holidays at last!

We went to New Zealand’s South Island to do some of the things we did on our honeymoon that we really enjoyed, and to do some of the things we missed out on doing while we were on our honeymoon.

Sydney Airport T1 View
Sydney Airport T1 View

We have been through Sydney’s T1 international terminal once before when we came back from our honeymoon, we had a bit of a rush trek through though to get our connecting flight from T3 and didn’t really get to check it out. We also flew in with QANTAS last time, and there was not much to see between the gate and the domestic transfers.

Sydney Airport T1 View
Sydney Airport T1 View

This time though we were flying with Jetstar, so we literally had to walk the length of the entire terminal to get to our gate. Our flight was also delayed by an hour so we had plenty of time to check the airport out along the way. The delay was a bit of an inconvenience to our plans at the other end, but the pilot did explain to us the reason which was nice. Apparently the plane had to fly from Christchurch the night before, arriving in Melbourne that morning. It then had to come from Melbourne up to Sydney before we could take it back to Christchurch. It seems weather delayed it from taking off from Christchurch which put it behind. While it did inconvenience us, the explanation was definitely appreciated. Thanks Jetstar!

NZ Rises Into View
NZ Rises Into View
NZ Rises Into View
NZ Rises Into View

 

We flew across the Tasman to Christchurch, just like we did last time, only last time we flew through the night. This time we had a day time flight and got to actually see the Island and it’s majestic Southern Alps appear.

NZ's Southern Alps
NZ’s Southern Alps Break through the Clouds

The way they just rear up out of the ocean and then onwards through the clouds is just breathtakingly beautiful! I don’t know exactly where we crossed them, but it was such an amazing sight.

NZ's Southern Alps from the Sky
NZ’s Southern Alps from the Sky

 

NZ's Southern Alps from the Sky
NZ’s Southern Alps from the Sky
NZ's Southern Alps from the Sky
NZ’s Southern Alps from the Sky

Coming from Australia where there really is no sight like this, it just took our breath away!

NZ's Southern Alps from the Sky
NZ’s Southern Alps from the Sky

Before long though, the snow capped peaks begin to lower and the snow disappears.

The Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks
The Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks
River Valley Towards the Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks
River Valley Towards the Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks

As we came towards the end of the mountain range, the snow caps began to disappear, but we also started to see more valleys with snow or glacier fed rivers running through them which on their own were quite stunning as well!

River Valley Towards the Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks
Rocky River Valley Towards the Edge of the Snow Capped Peaks

The further we got down some of the rivers the more we saw what looked like rivers of rock or gravel. From my understanding, this is a result of glaciers grinding against the rocky mountains and breaking them up. This ground-up rock and gravel gets carted with the glaciers down the mountains and is gradually released as the glacier melts.

Snow/Glacier Fed Lake
Snow/Glacier Fed Lake

This in turn flows into beautiful blue glacier fed lakes such as this one. I didn’t take any photos of the Canterbury Plains that we then flew over, but it looks find of like the banks of the Lake, criss crossed with fields in all different colours.

Arriving at Christchurch International Airport
Arriving at Christchurch International Airport

After a 3.5 hour flight, we were there. Landing in Christchurch it was pretty quiet (definitely not like when we arrived at 4am last time, but still quiet compared to Sydney).

If this article helped make your life a little bit easier, please consider booking or purchasing through one of our links. It won’t cost you anything but will help keep this site going!

Save money on your holiday

Travel Money & Currency Conversion: We use both Up Bank and Wise for the best currency conversion rates with support for Apple Pay and Android Pay plus excellent in-app customer support while you are travelling.

Flights: We check a few sites for different prices. Travelling from Australia, I always check Qantas directly for reward flights, but otherwise, I check and compare the cost of flights with SkyScanner. It’s always worth checking alternative routes and days, especially where there are multiple stopover options or nearby alternative airports.

Accommodation: We usually book through Agoda as we find their prices are the lowest and cancellation policies + loyalty benefits work out the best. We also use Airbnb from time to time.

Car Rental: We use AutoEurope to compare rental car prices with all the big international brands like Europcar, Budget, Hertz and Avis. We usually end up using Avis or Europcar as they offer the best deals (make sure to check their current offers for bonus discounts) and both maintain their vehicles well with relatively new fleets.

Tours & Activities: We generally try to book activities through one of these third-party sites ViatorGet Your Guide & Klook due to their flexible cancellation policies (saved us a lot of money trying to travel post-COVID) and price guarantees (often better prices than booking direct). We also book through Red Balloon on occasion for more unique Aussie and NZ activities.

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Who Am I?

Matt in Noumea

Matt works sort-of full time running his digital marketing business, TerraMedia. In his spare time though, he loves to travel with his wife, so they usually end up doing a lot of it.
Home is Australia, and while they don’t spend all their time travelling the world, Matt and his wife like to take the time to really explore and get to know a place, even if that means spending a lot longer there than normal tourists might.

You can read more about Matt and his story HERE.

Currently reading

Sponsored

Subscribe Now For The Latest Updates