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Published: August 6th 2007
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Saturday 21st July
(Bob supervises my packing)
The first thing my brother noted was that my rucksack was too heavy and that i should not be carrying more than a third of my bodyweight. Each item was duly removed from my pack and carefully considered. Some items were debated before being allowed to return to my sac. My travel hairdryer was the first casualty, surely a girl as resourceful as me could locate a hairdryer when the need arose, he reasoned, failing that i had a hat! Also debated were the amount of knickers, while my brother is more than able to make a pair last 4 days i was unwilling to compromise on this particular issue. (Besides half of them were thongs and therefore half the weight of your standard Bridget Jones type knicker. So they went back in when he wasn't looking. I don't think 11 pairs is excessive for 6 weeks! I also lost 2 jumpers in the thinning out process, so bearing in mind it will be Winter in NZ, if i get pneumonia again it'll be Bob's fault.
Sunday 22nd July
The trip to Heathrow with Pops was smooth and uneventful, I even arrived at
the checkin within 5 minutes of arriving. The pleasant girl behind the desk arranged for me to have a seat by the emergency exit and i didn't even have to tell her about my DVT. After much thought she told me she'd put me there because there was going to be a very handsome Englishman sitting next to me...very considerate of her i thought. Once settled on the plane i began to realise the responsibility of sitting next to the exit. the three of us, the ruggedly handsome Englishman and the middle aged Korean man (who sat between us) were informed that in case of an emergency we would have to assist the cabin crew in ensuring everyone's safe exit from the burning / sinking plane. we even had specific instructions on the safety booklet. The responsibility weighed heavily on me momentarily but deep down i knew i could rise to the challenge should it arise. I also considered letting the cabin crew know of my flying experience (with certificate) just in case. The transfer in Seoul was surprisingly easy, i have been known to get on the wrong bus before so i was anxious not to end up in
Tanzania or Uzbekistan. I found my gate with ease and even had time to sample some more Korean cuisine, i'd spotted Green Tea Haagan Daz ice cream, i ilke tea and I like ice cream, however together they taste fairly unpleasant but at least i'd had a good go!
I turned my mobile on to let my nearest and dearest know i was safe and well albeit half way through the trip but I think a few had their doubts I'd make it that far. The texts came flooding back, aww, i thought, people are missing me already. After 5 of them were the same message from the same person it began to get a little annoying, after 9 i actually rang to enquire whether it was me who was going to get charged for them or him. 26 texts later i was getting more self conscious as people regarded me with curiosity, i hoped they just thought i was popular. The final tally of texts (yes i kept count!) was 29.
Tuesday 24th July
I managed to find the hostel without too much bother. After checking in and locating my room i went for a wander, i glanced
at a map and thought a park would be a nice place to start and pretty much guessed at where it was. It was a very pleasant place called Arthur Park, it looked just like any other park i've seen before apart from these huge great palm tree type things and the birdsong was amazing to listen to, so many sounds i didn't recognise. Now i'm not claiming to be a great ornithologist or twitcher but i can tell the difference between a blackbird and a sparrow and it was nothing like those! After the park i decided to go and find the Sky Tower.
All cities seem to have a tall and impressive tower but this one to be fair, was far more impressive than the BT building back home in Cardiff. The views of the volcanoes and harbour were outstanding and every now and again i would see a man falling to the ground from the tower. I wasn't tempted to try this today (They were attached to wires!) and my jet lag was kicking in, instead i just settled on enjoying the view from the observation deck and then the very sky deck at the very top.
So many places and geographical features were easily spotted and I could feel the Geography teacher in me getting quite excited. Hopefully if i can now work the photos you can share these geographical features with me!
(Slight Amendement) Realised today that Arthur Park is actually Albert Park but Arthur is a far better name. (Love you Arthur Maples - my gorgeous nephew! xx)
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Gayna Hodges
non-member comment
Glad you've arrived safely! Auckland looks beautiful - better than rainy Creigiau. Looking after a 23 month old baby and an 18 week old puppy is quite hard work this week. Think I'd quite like to be where you are. Keep safe SJ and enjoy. Lots of Love Gayna xx