Getting to New Zealand

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After weeks of planning and some very busy times at work, the day of our trip finally arrived, and we 'eagerly' got on the plane at Gatwick, looking forward to a mere 30-odd hours of travelling (not including the 3 hours getting to the airport and the several hours we'd been up already!).

We enjoyed a particularly uncomfortable flight from London to Dubai, where it seemed that bricks had been inserted in the backs of the seats, and Sarah developed a severe case of cankles (i.e swelling of the lower legs which obliterate the ankles, thus making it difficult to distinguish the difference between calf and ankle). In Dubai airport Sarah was lucky not to sustain serious injury after being almost knocked to the ground on the travelator by a man carrying a 'man bag' who was clearly in a real hurry. Other than the undrinkable costa coffee frescato obtained by Laura (sooooo different to how they are at home - travel may broaden the mind, but my tastebuds were protesting at this point), the rest of our time at Dubai airport was unremarkable, although Laura was quite bemused at being asked to take a photo in security to prove her camera didn't contain a bomb.

We then boarded the plane for the most 'enjoyable' leg of the journey - the fourteen hour horror from Dubai to Sydney. When we thought there must only be a few hours left, we inquired of the friendly air steward how long we had left - a mere seven and a half hours came the reply, much to our distress and chagrin.

We arrived in Sydney for refuelling of our aircraft. We were feeling very tired but relieved that our ordeal was almost at an end. Or so we thought. Sarah was unfortunate enough to fall victim to a very curmudgeonly customs assistant, who seemed to gain a grim satisfaction in confiscating the very expensive Chanel body cream Sarah had treated herself to at Duty Free in Gatwick Airport (with the assurance from the sales lady that it would be absolutely fine - anything for a sale - eh?). We managed to get Sarah away from this traumatic situation without being arrested, but it wasn't easy!!!

The rest of the journey was easier, helped by the rather underfilled flight from Sydney to Christchurch. However, customs did cause us a few problems, with Sarah having some of her extremely cheap cigarettes confiscated. Laura was also worried that, with New Zealand's strict quarantine laws, she would have to declare her hair for possible infestation by beasties as it was EXTREMELY greasy and dirty. However, she got away with it, and the nice people on passport control even believed she was the person in the photo, and not a down-and-out.

We fell into a taxi to our hotel, where we had a little wait for our suite (we didn't mind as they'd given us a bigger room for no extra charge). We suspect the man on reception was a little unnerved by our rather hyperactive behaviour caused by severe sleep deprivation. Laura took some persuading that she wasn't actually on a boat and that she may have felt a little dizzy through sheer fatigue. We eventually got our room, and after a quick look round nipped out for some groceries and some sandwiches for lunch, and spent the rest of the day just chilling and being quite boring.

The following day we just wandered around Christchurch (after a hideous walk in the rain to pick up the hire car) having a listless look in the shops and just getting our bearings/trying to recover from the jetlag. The following day we would set off on our roadtrip, driving from Christchurch to Blenheim.

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Photos

Dubai security
I had to take this photo to prove my camera contained a memory card and not explosives!