We spent a fabulous 3 weeks together in NZ, travelling around between New Plymouth, Wanganui, Palmerston North, Wellington and exploring the Marlborough Sounds, and Golden Bay in the South Island. I was blessed to be able to stay on another 2 weeks and enjoy more time with family and friends.
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Brekky on the bay at Portage
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We stayed four nights at a stunning spot, Te Mahia Lodge. Quiet, tranquil and just what we needed to recharge our batteries.
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| Te Mahia Lodge, Kenepuru sounds taken from the water on the K. watertaxi |
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| Dinner on the deck at Te Mahia |
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| Mussel farming |
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| The Pied Shag community |
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| Lunchtime |
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| Shipwreck of former Naval training vessel |
The teak taken from this ship was extracted by a couple of local boys and was exchanged for a crate of beer. Story told by our boat captain on tour of Kenepuru Sounds, the 3rd and smallest of the beautiful Marlborough Sounds.
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| Cute shops in Takaka, Golden Bay |
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Mural Takaka
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| Farewell Picton |
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| Liam and Shani's new house and 'guest' |
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| Out on the boat with Liam |
We had a great outing to Lake Ratapiko with Shani's family. Liam took me for a spin...yes, on the water first before being hauled out by David onshore.
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| Lone Cowboy, waiting for someone to come play with him |
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| Trish and Plum |
Rules for plane travel:
If you take cheese and cold items in your suitcase, wrap them in silver foil (I use the emergency blanket foil) and place in a soft chilly-bin with a frozen slicker pad. I did this.
If you have a full toiletries bag, ensure all lids on shampoos' etc are securely closed and items are inside separate plastic bags. I didn't do this. Purple shampoo for silver hair was everywhere!
Expect the unexpected. Your already staggeringly long flight may be diverted when someone on board becomes sick. We had one such passenger. Two hours After leaving Brisbane it was announced that we would be diverting to Darwin to offload the sick person.
If your plane is diverted off it's course, expect to sit on the tarmac for 1-2 hours waiting for the plane's brakes to cool before recommencing journey.
If your plane is diverted, expect that you most likely won't make your connecting flight. Thankfully I made it to mine but after an unexpected four extra hours I had to run from plane in Dubai to make flight to Luanda. Emirates staff had not expected that I would get to the flight on time so had already sold my seat. Thankfully there were still a few seats available.
If your plane is diverted and you almost miss your connecting flight, expect that your luggage may not travel with you. It didn't.
If your plane is diverted, you almost miss your connecting flight and your luggage doesn't arrive at your final destination, be prepared for a rigmarole to get your luggage. So imagine my delight when as I arrived to Luanda (after almost all of the previous 37 hours being on a plane) a friendly and helpful Emirates baggage handler came to explain that my bags had not arrived. Great, I thought, at least I don't have to wait for all the bags to come off the plane to find that out. I was given a phone number to call and the next day my bags would arrive.
Today I spent 2 1/2 hours at the airport going from place to place, being told different things. I finally managed to convince an official at the arrivals gate to let me through to get my bags. I was told I should wait for 20 minutes for the main bulk of the passengers to come through. After 30 minutes, I was told to enter through to get my bags. After a few metres, I was stopped by another guard who sent me back. Another period of waiting. I was sent back through again and as I looked back, I could see the officials laughing as I tried to convince the second guard to let me through. The guard told me I should go back and I told him I wasn't going anywhere. We had a little verbal tussle and I won, being instructed to stand near him. I then discovered he was a Police Officer so I stood by very still and quiet. Finally I was allowed through to the baggage claim...only to find one bag was still missing.
Back to the airport for the whole process again tomorrow....
April 27, back to the airport in rush hour traffic. Totally gobsmacked to be greeted by lovely Emirates baghandler, with missing suitcase ready to be collected. Even more surprised to find that a large item had been removed from suitcase and was sitting beside it. So, further travel tip:
Your bag's lock can be picked very easily. Mine was forced open. Not sure what they were hoping to find. I was itching to get home to discover whether the Luanda security guys at airport had deemed the NZ Sauvignon Blanc bottles of wine for friends was contraband. It wasn't! Both bottles were intact and present. Great. Good old Luanda, full of surprise and intrigue.
