However, come check-in, there was a bit of a kerfuffle as I had no visa for Oz, but once they'd got their heads round my transfer in Sydney it was all sorted.
Then I went to get the money I'd ordered from TravelEx, & because my passport was Campbell & my Amex was Clarke, the bloke got all flustered & asked me why. I explained & showed him copies of the birth & marriage certs, but he still ran it by his boss before he got me to sign 3x on the dotted line & gave me the dosh. That was the 2nd hiccup, & there had to be a 3rd. . .
And the next bit of fun was the security scanner which beeped. The bloke said "Please take everything out of your pockets"' & I said "I haven't got any pockets" (I was wearing my Budokan freestyle pants). They sent me back through twice, & I got frisked by hand & the machine thing, but I was still beeping & they couldn't work out why. It turned out it was the hip - well it's metal isn't it?!
Once aboard I was next to a chap from Strathaven (pronounced Straven) called Derek, & we had a chat about Mugenkyo being based nearby & me & Rob staying there a couple of times. It turned out Derek was very tall & the Witch King of Angmar sprang to mind again - see Dec 30th 2009!
I watched 3 movies & a documentary about the Awesome Pawsome at a Queensland zoo until gone 5am & slept until Singapore.
Once back in the air I managed a bit of Battle for Los Angeles until I fell asleep.
Transfering in Sydney was a bit weird & they put me on a later flight than I'd booked for :-(. Plus, you had to pay to watch a movie on NZ Air, so I watched TV clips instead, including a couple of Mirandas I'd seen, but they were still laugh out loud funny :-))
Getting through Bio Security was really quick this time & I was outside waiting for the transfer to the car within 1/2 hr !
I ended up with an auto, but apart from trying to change gear at the 1st roundabout - oops ;-) it's been fine.
My 1st night was booked in Owhango, about 300k from Auckland, & apart from driving past it in the dark, the trip down was fairly uneventful - unless you count getting breathalised in Taumarunui anyway!
The police were doing random breath tests & I was pulled over and asked to "breathe into this, Madam". That done, he asked my name & where I lived, so I said "Shirley Clarke, Blackpool, England". Give him his due, he didn't seem fazed & waved me on, hehe
When I got to the hotel, I found Grant, the proprietor, in the bar with a couple of mates, Kevin & Archie. They were on beers, but I had a cup of tea. We had a chat for a bit, mainly about rugby & then I hit the shower, closely followed by the sack.
So endeth the first bit of my 2nd New Zealand adventure
OAO
* Name that film ( sort of ;-) )
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