Touchdown

We have arrived!

I write this sitting in an apartment looking out over the tree clad escarpment at the back of The Terrace in Wellington, NZ.  I really meant to post one last time before I left the UK but it all got a tad manic in the days leading up to the flight.  I thought we had everything under control and sorted but it appeared that was merely an illusion.  In amongst making all the visits to say our goodbyes, finishing cleaning the house, handing back keys and moving out we had a couple of problems.  Firstly there was the discovery that our baggage allowance was per individual bag and not cumulative.  This meant a complete re-packing of every bag (and the leaving behind of some heavy climbing gear that will have to be shipped).  On top of that my car decided to have engine issues.  In typical fashion this was the day after we sold the better half's car.  The result of these problems meant our idea of having a relaxing last couple of days, before the marathon flight, was not to be.

As is redundantly obvious, we sorted everything out and, after some tearful goodbyes to our nearest and dearest, on Wednesday morning headed down to Heathrow.  Special mention should go to my brother-in-law, Len, for giving us a lift there with our mountain of luggage.  We checked in our bags and were waved off through the security checks by the better half's family.  In keeping with my long standing record, I was stopped by security and my bag searched.  This was as dramatic as the journey got.  We watched films, drank NZ wine, ate airplane meals, landed in LA, disembarked, got searched by US security, re-embarked, watched more films, slept (sort of), ate more, drank more, landed in Auckland, cleared customs and immigration, made our connecting flight, took off then landed in Wellington.  All in under 35 hours.  I was truly impressed at how smooth it all went.

The better half's new employers met us from the airport and took us to our temporary apartment in the glorious sunshine that "always" shines here.  We spent the rest of the day trying to stay awake by exploring and shopping for a few essentials.  We quickly realised how mad the Kiwi's are.  It is the NZ leg of the IRB Sevens in Wellington this weekend.  Every street, cafe, bar and public space was filled with people in fancy dress.  We are reliably informed this is normal for this sporting occasion.  It certainly made an entertaining spectacle.  Hopefully we will join in some of the revelry later on as the England and Kiwi teams look set to clash in the Final.  Sleep finally overtook me at about 8pm and a good night's sleep has put my brain back into gear.  Despite the feeling I could still be dreaming everything, thoughts now are turning to the practicalities of setting up life here in NZ.  So the Adventure in the Land of the Long White Cloud continues.