Arrival at Sydney & on to Christchurch

Charlie was unfortunately suffering from some sort of sickness bug, so did not have a very good night in the Hilton, and as we had to get up at 4:00 am to ensure that we and the pole were fully checked in for our 6:00 am flight, it wasn't the best night we'd had.

At that time of day, it's still very dark in Melbun, so photos during the take-off were out of the question, but at least we could see our plane on the well floodlit apron:

The flight all went smoothly and our short hop to Sydney was uneventful. We did at least get a nice sunrise from 35,000 ft up:

The cloud level went right down to 2,000 ft or so, but eventually we got our first glimpses of New Zealand:

Once through the complexities of immigration (not helped by the Swine Flu worries) we found a Green Taxi (they use Prius's) as specified by Wilderness Motorhomes, our helpful motorhome company. Within a short time we were sitting in the Wilderness office going through the formalities of taking over our home for the next four weeks. All very informal, friendly and helpful.

Soon enough, it was ours and Barbara, being the more experienced driver of large vehicles, took it carefully out of the gates and off to the nearby Northlands Mall to stock up on the basics. On checking the drawers and cupboards though, we found that Wilderness had been thoughtful enough to include many of the essentials: tea, coffee, milk, etc, and even a really nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc:

Cheers Wilderness, it was very nice.

And then we found the close-by Meadow Park Campsite and spent some time booking in and organising tomorrow's entertainment.

But first, Barbara wasn't going to miss out on practice night at one of the few churches in the southern hemisphere with ringable bells. So I took her the half-mile or so down the road to St. Paul's Church where she was warmly welcomed.......

Although there were eight bells, not enough ringers were present (even though my name was on the board) so only six were used and I provided a useful presence, having a go on all six. Grandsire, bob minor, Stedman, St. Simon's and Cambridge were on the menu as well as a young learner with plain hunting and calleed changes. The tower had copies of two of Steve Coleman's books – I wonder if he knows he's known in NZ? - and I was ok. The ringers were so familiar. The TC, Robin, was Charles Woodd for example. Lyndsay kindly escorted me back to the site.

written by  Saros on April 29, 2009 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: The Hairy Animal 2009 World Road Trip
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