9th February 2008

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9th February 2008
We said our goodbyes to Vern and Annette yesterday at Christchurch airport after spending a few hours at Oranga Zoo watching the tigers being fed and being entertained by the Black Gibbons shouting from their high wire, while we waited for our plane to Brisbane.
We have really enjoyed and shall miss their company and tour guide knowledge which has really helped to colour our trip round New Zealand. Perhaps we shall be back before the next 30 years are up. unless the zimmer frames and walking sticks get in the way!! Make sure you work on the downhill knee, Vern, then the uphill knee won't keep running away.
We arrived safely in OZ after an uneventful flight on which we starved because we had ditched our NZ dollars and had no OZ dollars and they had no credit card facilities on Jet Star. We will make a note for future flights on Jet Star. After picking up the hire car (a much bigger one than booked which eats fuel and goes like a race horse) we drove to Caloundra only to find it was full of triathathletes and there were no motels available. By now Bob was desperate for food so we stopped at Dick's Beach (bit like Blackpool but hot) and had very good fish and chips and John the friendly fish and chip man sorted out a motel at Marroochydore a bit further up the coast.
By now it was dark and eveything was shutting up so we went to bed. I think we will head on up the coast as this is obviously a beach and sunbathing place with fish and chips every other shop and so many people after the quiet of the Hermitage. They have had a lot of rain here and everywhere looks very green after the drought in Mackenzie country in NZ.
We are a bit late posting this as we have been unable to access the internet for a couple of days.

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