Christchurch 2

16th October 2007 21.41 UK time
10 km above the earth around 1 and a half hours to Hong Kong near Banaue where ever that is!
Our last day in NZ was really good, we only had until 3pm so we set off early for the Gondola which took us up to a peak on the south side of the city, the day was bright and clear so the views were fantastic. We spent a hour or 2 looking at the scenery and learning about the geological history of the area, very interesting. NZ has a lot of geological history
We drove back into town with the view of hopping on the tram system for a while. The trams are genuine old fashioned wood trams that do a circular route round the city and you can hop on and off as you wish. The drivers are all really good and give a fair bit of history of the part you are passing through. We went through the whole circuit and then had a coffee. Susan and Jenny had expressed an interest in Punting on the rive Avon which flows through the town and as we reckoned we had time we got back on the tram and headed back to the boat sheds where the punts are located. A nice young American lad took us for a half hour punt up the river which was very relaxing, the daffodils have just finished and the sun was shining. I tried to stroke a Mallard Duck but got bitten instead, the other wildlife we saw was a water eel, not very exciting though. Then we had a very quick wander through the museum then back to the hotel to collect the suitcases and head out to the airport.
We were far too early but we were checked in by yet another very pleasant and helpful New Zealander we asked for seats in rows of 2 which are quite scarse, she offered us rows of 3 but said she could block the 3rd seat so nobody was beside us, that was fantastic. She also said that the flight was very empty so we might get a row each.
Our flight up to Auckland was uneventful, slightly late but no hassles and again we had a while to hang around. We had dinner and I tried to buy a camera but the sales assistant was not very helpful so he lost a sale.
When we got to the gate we realised that the plane (which seats almost 400) would be more than half empty I decided to try and get a row of 4 seats for myself which thankfully I managed, I was frightened to leave it in case somebody else stole it so I placed all my possessions round about, even took my shoes off and put them on the seats. I managed to get a fair bit of sleep, on and off for around 7 hours, maybe sleeping for an hour then waking up for a bit, not great but much much better than being crammed upright in a seat. Susan, Tom and Jenny each got a row of 3 each and Jenny slept for hours, Susan and Tom got a bit. Susan thinks I am flirting with the air hostess but I cant help it if she fancies me!

New Zealand is a brilliant country, I just cant get over how helpful everyone is and we will definitely go back, so the holiday of a lifetime has turned out to be just another exploration for a future visit.

We land in Hong Kong in about an hour – susan is currently watching Blades of Glory and laughing so loud people are turning to look, she almost lost her yogurt at one point, I must watch this movie on the way home. Hopefully when we got to the hotel our rooms might be ready, a long shot as we land at 6am local time but you never know.