I have been back home for nearly four weeks and once more I need to apologise for the lateness in updating the blog. this is something which should be done at the time as the memory fades and some of the finer details are lost. i am having issues with the hard drive on my PC which cannot upload the photos from my cameras and phones because of lack of disk space. working on this as i am getting complaints about the lack of photos on the blog.
BLOG UPDATE
the last four days went by very quickly
on Saturday 14th March I made my way down from Russell to Orewa a beachside campsite about 40kms North of Auckland. Mistake...it was absolutely chock a block with refugees from the Auckland area weekending and it was Mother's day with familes converging and meeting up. Queues for the kitchen / showers / toilets and extremely noisy. The TV news was full of doom predicting that Tropica Cyclone (category5) "PAM" was about to flatten poor Vanuatu and would hit NZ the following day. The wind stared to get up a bit overnight.
Sunday 15th March
the TV gloom merchants had some effect on the campsite...the tenters were up at the crack of dawn getting the tents down in the stengthening winds and packing up to go home. I also packed up everthing and dumped the accumulated rubbish and stuff that was not going back to Scotland. The drive down the final 40kms was uneventful and as i roughly knew where i was going made it back to van rental company without getting lost and in record time because of the lack of traffic. On the way i had dropped my bags off at the hotel. The van inspection was superficial and the new crack on windscreen (caused by my deceased feathered firend) was not noticed. Auckland was heaving with Eagles fans, who come in all shapes, sizes and guises. It could be considered illegal to photograph some of the sights (mainly women) that i saw...full length mirrors are maybe in short supply in NZ. Next i encountered loads of people wearing stupid looking green hats, why? because they were celebrating St. Patrick's Day in advance and there was going to be a parade at 13:00. as you would expect the pubs were busy and i was trying to find a pub somewhere who was going to show the Australian F1Grand Prix and although it was on Sky no pub was showing it, even the largest sports bar who had five screens preferred to show cage fighting because the clientele were betting on the various aspects. The sports bars are really alcohol selling betting shops with some food. i had to settle for the St. Paddy parade which was over and done with in five minutes.
When i checked into the hotel in the afternoon i was given a room on the nineteenth floor, just what you want when the Tropical Cyclone is due. Fortunately it was the opposite side of the building from where the wind and rain were coming.
Monday 16th March
The Cyclone was downgraded overnight after it had wreaked havoc on Vanuatu, but it was still extremely windy and wet in Auckland. It made landfall further South and East at Gisborne (the first town in the world to see the sunrise) who had some rough seas and high waves but nothing too drastic...thank goodness. As the weather was unsettled i spent the day watching the TV and trying to get everything back into the holdall. i needed three attempts and finally got everything contained without bursting the zips.
Tuesday 17th March
went out for the major fry up breakfast to stoke the boilers for the journey home and asked the hotel concierge to book me a shuttle bus to the airport but he offered his cousin to drive me personally for the same price. The guy turns up wearing a chauffeur outfit in a black "suburban" luxury van and he insists i sit in the back and he pointed out all the interesting sights on the way. Best value twenty pound journey ever. Emirates check fast and efficient and i was issued with a voucher and instructions for the hotel in Dubai. take off on time, next stop Brisbane. Sitting beside a small Austrian woman with limited English and she will be my travelling companion to Dubai. On the outside was an Australian woman who regularly made the "hop" between Auckland and Brisbane. No sooner had the seatbelt sign been switched off when she rang the bell for a gin and tonic. This was the first of three plus wine with the meal...she must have had Scottish ancestry. missed the last seven minutes of a movie because the efficient cabin staff confiscated my headphones twenty minutes before landing. Everyone was unloaded at Brisbane and us transit passengers were put in a holding area without access to caffiene which i had been looking forward to. back onboard the refreshed and refuelled A380 for the long haul to Dubai. I never slept more than half and hour during the transit to Dubai and managed to see the end of the movie plus three others and a TV mini-series. sitting behind me on this leg of the journey were two male Brummies. The larger one was extremely loud and his conversation was unfiltered when talking to his "partner", who he addressed as "our kid". He had the most uncomfortable journey of his life and made sure everyone knew this. this food on this leg was disgusting with goat curry which i took or Fricasseed Chicken which my neighbour chose. We both left the main course and ate the salad starter with the pudding.
Wednesday 18th March
arrived Dubai on time (05:00) and was directed straight to the Emirates hotel desk on the concourse. i was escorted with the six transit passengers from our flight to a minibus which took us to the hotel. fantastic room so straight to bed with the alarm set (for five hours) although the hotel would call also. as usual i couldn't sleep properly as frightened to sleep in so around nine o'clock got up and showered then down for the breakfast. Got into the restaurant 15 mins before closing so it was nice and quiet with a baconless feast laid out.
again stoked up for the final leg. Got to the airport three hours before the flight and as i did not have to check in had plenty time to wander through the duty free which i would estimate to be (in total) the length of Princes Street in Edinburgh. The flight was delayed in taking off because some woman pressed the cabin staff button during the push bach from the stand and informed the head steward that she has lost her passport. Just before she was going to be ejected it was found on the walkway to the aircraft by the ground crew.
The final leg of the journey was a breeze compared to the Brisbane / Dubai part. More movies were watched and the food was better. Sainted wife and daughter were there on arrival at Glasgow.. tears all round
not the plane i travelled in but the Air NZ plane has great artwork...especially appreciated by hobbits
more photos to follow...shortly...honest!
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