Titanium toes attempts to trek the Inca Trail plus some travels either side

[bPeteb]

See, you can see out of the window



The Charles Heidsieck champagne was delicious. I had a few to make sure it was.

The food was delicious.

Prosciutto with figs (both of us)



the salmon (both of us)



The riesling that Al suggested I try with the desert I wasn't going to have was sublime.

The flight attendant and Al said this was the best ice cream in the whole world. I'm tempted to agree



I watched the last 20 minutes of Fast and Furious 7 that we’d missed on the bus to Puno. After it finished, one of the super friendly crew asked when I’d like the bed made and I said why not now. They pressed a button and the seat kind of flipped over (after I’d stood up of course!). Then they put a memory foam mattress down on it, then a doona and a couple of pillows. Again, I forgot to take a picture...

Track pants and t-shirt on it was time for sleep. And I did. And so did Al. For about six hours each. Amazing.

We'd hated the BA seat. It faced backwards. We were together in a middle pair. Each of us then faced the person sitting beside us on the outside if the screen was down. It was also hell hot in the cabin.

The Qantas seat was much better. It was comfy as a seat and as a bed and the cabin was a nice temperature but in the middle it was three across so you had to step over the person beside you if they were sleeping.

The Air NZ seat had none of these issues – no stepping over anyone, comfy as a seat, super comfy as a bed. Excellent IFE system. Selection isn’t as good as QF though.

 

[bPeteb]

The dinner that we hadn’t need the night before had been great. Breakfast was even better.

Fresh fruit dished up from a giant bowl then yoghurt spooned over it (the picture does not do it justice)



French toast with berries and cinnamon cream. Fabulous!



Al said his chorizo and fritatta was ok but nothing special. It looked pretty good to me. He should have the french toast, just saying...



We’d left BA late and arrived into Auckland over an hour early (at 03:45!). A tail wind from South America! Even the captain was surprised!

 

[bPeteb]

First world problem alert. We’d arrived so early into Auckland the lounge wasn’t open. Instead we went duty free shopping!

Eventually, after 45 torturous minutes the lounge opened

The new(ish) international Koru Club is really nice. Seating for miles



Good food selection, good bar (more bubbles was of course consumed), a barista (you can order through the Air NZ app on your phone), lots of power points and best of all for the nerdy plane watcher that I am a great view across the gates and runway.



In hindsight, maybe we should have asked if we could have flown home earlier, but why waste that money we’d paid to fly business to fly the last leg in economy. Instead it was nearly six hours between landing at Auckland and taking off for Brisbane on the last flight of our holiday.

After the high of the flight from Buenos Aires, our flight home to Brisbane was a bit of a letdown. From the moment we boarded it was obvious that the plane and crew didn’t come from Air New Zealand’s a-team. The crew just went through the motions. They were friendly enough, but they didn’t compare to the crew from BA, or even the premium economy crew we’d had from Auckland to BA.

We were in 3 and 4K for this flight.

IFE. Slightly bigger screen on 773 than 772 apparently. I didn't notice to be honest.



The plane itself was dirty and tired. There were lolly wrappers behind my tv screen when I opened it. More on the ground beside my seat. Everything seemed to have a layer of dust on it. It was weird to be honest.

Not that we needed anything to eat but third breakfast should have been refused. It was very ordinary.

The fruit and yoghurt with yoghurt out of a tub



and a very crisp breakfast bagel



Immigration at Brisbane was chaos. Earlier in the morning Brisbane had been closed due to fog. When we arrived, all of the planes that had been waiting had just landed. Then the passenger manifest from our plane had to be reloaded so the SmartGates failed. It took for bloody ever. Because we’d been to Peru we needed to show our yellow fever certificates but of course we’d left them at home. So we had to see a supervisor who just told us to go to the doctor if we got sick. Um, ok.

No idea if the priority tags had our bags come out at the front of the line. They'd been there close to an hour when we finally took them off the carousel.

The airport god finally smiled at us when the customs guy waved us through without a search. We appeared to definitely be in the minority.

And with that little blessing we walked out of the terminal and stepped back in to the real world.

 

[Steady]

An enjoyable TR, thanks for the time and effort you put into doing it

 

[kpc]

I love Sth America.....so really enjoyed your TR; the last of my 4 trips to SA is now 4 years ago so itching to get back. Anyone know if it is possible to get J award seats on NZ Akl-Eze? When we went to BA (love this place!!) in 2010, QF flew Syd-Eze non stop which they sadly have canned

 

[ellen10]

Great trip report and great photos.

My son and his girlfriend flew in to South America, leaving SYD last sunday, they will be there for 9 weeks. They are in Quito at the moment, but are travelling to the Amazon later today.
They too will do a 4 day hike to Machu Picchu, so I loved reading about your trek and seeing the pictures.

Thanks for sharing and for your excellent recalling of details AND all the great photos!

 

[Boca68]

Fantastic TR Pete.

I'm a huge fan of Lima too. But, you're right. Its the weather that gets to you. It can be quite dull, to say the least. But, when the sun does shine, its amazing. And the 'rain'...sheesh, my Lima friends are running for cover, I'm thinking you call this rain?

Back in Lima next month. Can't wait. The restaurants are brilliant! Go for the ceviche , stay for the Chifa, I say.

 

[HeavyElectricity]

A great read - thanks very much for writing - sounds like it was a fantastic trip overall. I'm sure you've made some great memories. I'm flying NZ J to Buenos Aires next week, reading your report has me excited!

 

[VPS]

I'm a sucker for French toast and the BoBo hotel version is a cracker
View attachment 77637

me too and hot chocolates - what a combination - enjoying the TR

 

[Mattg]

I've finally got around to reading the end of your report.

Excellent stuff! A very enjoyable read, and it looks like you had a great time.

 

[bPeteb]

I've finally got around to reading the end of your report.

Excellent stuff! A very enjoyable read, and it looks like you had a great time.

We did Matt, we had a brilliant time. It's still nine months away and we're already counting down until Brasil next June!

 

[Milboo]

What a great trip report. Brought back some great memories from my trip last year - I too loved Cusco. I had a dodgy knee up MP too and regret not getting up to the Guard Hut at the top for 'that' iconic photo.

And Manolo's in Lima!! We were in Lima the day of my birthday so that was my birthday cake! And damn they were good!

 

[24601]

Really enjoyed this report, thanks for taking the time to share it.

 

[v1nce007]

What a brilliant TR. I've been thinking of doing this trip for sometime (I've done a number of trips with Intrepid in the past), and reading this has made up my mind to book it for next year.
Do you know if a single supplement is available for the nights in the tents?

 

[bPeteb]

What a brilliant TR. I've been thinking of doing this trip for sometime (I've done a number of trips with Intrepid in the past), and reading this has made up my mind to book it for next year.
Do you know if a single supplement is available for the nights in the tents?

Thanks Vince. I'm really not sure about the single tent supplement. We had two singles but they shared a tent.
Pete

 

[Magpie10]

Well BigPete you have certainly kept me up well past my bedtime, reading your absolutely wonderful TR, along with those photos, it has been a treat reading about a country I have never thought to visit. Your efforts in walking the trail certainly are to be commended, I don't know how you did it, it looked just so unbelievably hard, but I am glad you did it made for great reading, you definitely have a way of getting your experience across, so thanks again BigPete....V

 

[v1nce007]

Hi Big Pete, what time of year did you do this trip, and what time would you recommend? I understand May is the peak season.

 

[bPeteb]

Hi Big Pete, what time of year did you do this trip, and what time would you recommend? I understand May is the peak season.

Hi Vince,
we went at the start of July. Peak is June/July as far as I know as it's supposed to be dry. As with any place you visit, the weather is at the whim of the weather gods and we had rain and I understand some snow even followed us along the trail. I would stick to the dry months as there's nothing more miserable that trekking in the rain. On top of it being no fun you also get to see less as it's often hidden in the mist and drizzle. You have to store away what you do see in your head unless you have a good waterproof/resistant camera with a hooded lens. That'll be my next photographic investment.
cheers pete