Auckland to Vancouver - 1 October 2023

October 04, 2023

North Vancouver waterfront area

It is four years since we have flown long haul. A lot has changed in that time; airfares have climbed and travel insurance costs have more than tripled or quadrupled caused primarly by my advancing age. We had initially intended to go to Europe for six weeks but health issues changed our plans to a shorter trip to Canada to visit family and friends.

It was with a lot of excitement (it was like travelling for the first time) that we were taken to the airport and quickly we were on our flight to Auckland. A short walk took us across from the domestic terminal to the international terminal and quickly we were through customs and security. Finally we were on the B787 ready to lumber into the sky.

It is my last year of Gold Elite privileges, and we were lucky to score an upgrade to Business. One of the joys of the configuration is that we can dine together like we are at a restaurant. There was a menu with several choices and the wine list was reasonably good. Service was great. Arriving on board we were offered amongst other things a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne, the perfect way to commence our holiday.

For anyone interested in food read on, if you are not you can skip this part.

We started with an amuse bouche of salmon tartare, tomato gel and salmon caviar. It was a mouthful of flavour with the delight of popping the roe. For our entrée a mixed tasting plate of Ahia smoked moki and kawakawa blini, prosciutto with plum paste, and whipped ricotta with tapenade. It was another tasty morsel. The wine was initially the Sacred Hill Wine Thief Chardonnay 2019. It was a complex buttery flavoursome wine with a very generous palate - a perfect match for the food. We also tried the Saint Clair Pioneer Block 10 Chardonnay 2020. It was such a contrast, lighter in style and more akin to a Chablis having citrus notes and being more austere. A good wine though.

There were three choices for the main which was lamb with a horopito rub and balsamic rosemary jus which Bev chose and I chose the Seared Hapuka with smoked mussels, garlic salt crushed potatoes, steamed spinach and chives. Unfortunately the meat was a little dry and tough and the fish had been overcooked and more meaty than it should be. The accompaniments were a choice of four and I had the charred broccolini & almonds and Bev, the winter roasted vegetables. We both had a red wine which was the Trinity Hill, The Gimblet. It was a sophisticated blend a grape varieties with a full palate. Hints of plum and dried fruit. It was quite robust and perfect for both dishes

We had the baked lemon citrus tart with passionfruit marscapone cream. Others I am sure would have enjoyed the Chocolate Feuilletine with chocolate sauce.

If that was not enough we decided to share some cheese with a glass of Seifried “Sweet Agnes” botrytis Riesling 2015. It was gorgeous and perfect balance of acid and sweetness.

Remarkably neither of us felt overfull. The sizes of each dish were just right.

Finally it was time to watch a bit of TV and then go to sleep.

Vancouver

After a nice breakfast it was time to pack up and get ready for the landing for which we had a nice view of Vancouver from the air, it being a fine sunny day. Since I was last in Vancouver, they seem to have built a new Terminal. It was quite a walk to Customs.

Public artwork at Vancouver Airport

Prior to catching the Skytrain to the waterfront station Bev organised a sim with Bell at a rather horrendous price to get minutes and data - $C61 - and I blanched but that seemed to be the cheapest which also had decent coverage of Canada.

A short walk from the station took us to the Seabus terminal and caught the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver where we had booked our hotel. It took us a little while to find it but eventually with the help of Maps we discovered the very discreet sign. Our rooms were rather nice and with the Seabus being only a few minutes away we can easily get to Vancouver City.

Seabus

North Vancouver was the centre of ship building until the 1960s where lots of ships were built for the second world war, fishing and cargo. Nowadays it is where some shipping maintenance is done and there are a couple dry docks which are still in use. The waterfront area we were in has been redeveloped and kept those historic links making it a really interesting place to walk around.

Cycle path

After checking in we went for a walk to see our neighbourhood which is the entertainment centre of North Vancouver, with plenty of restaurants and bars as well as the Lonsdale Quay Market directly under our hotel. They have some good bike paths and a “spirit path” which is part of the trans-Canada trail network, similar to the Te Araroa trail in New Zealand. We walked along the path for a couple of kilometres where we saw all these houses which float in the marina. It must be a bit disconcerting when the wind blows and there is a bit of a chop in the protected area.

That night, we ate a Vietnamese meal in one of the many semi-fast food outlets near the hotel.