We made it to New Zealand and the waiting game has begun! All has gone smoothly for me, but Ian had the security dog hunt him down right after getting through customs. They had to tear apart his luggage only to reveal that there was nothing in there, at least nothing worth confiscating. Regardless, the police still recorded his passport number, so he's a wanted man. Now, Ian and I have been waiting patiently for the past four hours in Auckland International for our flight (which is still three hours away). So far we have drank a beer, watched some cricket, taken a 20 minute walk in the warm rain, only to retrace our steps right back to the airport benches. And now we are bored and ready to be in Christchurch. We should be there by 9:50 tonight. Right now it is roughly 2:00pm on the 4th of January, though back home it is still the 3rd, and seven at night. Here are a few interesting things that I have noticed: 1) Close to the majority of the people traveling from Dallas to LAX had rat sized dogs in carry-on bags. 2) The food and service on Australian's airline flights is phenomenal. They served beer and wine with the meals, and came by multiple times asking if we needed any more tea. 3) Lastly, Ian says the money here tastes like plastic. And is smells weird too.
The free internet station insists that my few minutes has been long enough, so its cheers for now!
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| The drug dog going through Ian's pack. They had to take everything out and make sure he wasn't smuggling anything into the country. It actually was looking for food. If you claim it you can bring food, if you don't claim it and you have food it's a $400 fine. |
Greetings from MN !! Glad to hear you made in to Gods country OK. Always an adventure - adds to the memory list. I feel your pain in the 7 hour airport waiting game. One can only memorize the mazagine names so many times before wanting to just buy one. Hope your flight to Christchurch goes well. Keep posting.
ReplyDeleteHugs and Kisses from your Loving familia in MN.
PS: Tell Ian that dog treats really do not make good gifts.
Finally, David! I have been checking this blog non-stop. That sounds like a lot of travel time. And those dogs probably are rats.
ReplyDeleteDavid, glad you are still alive! Hope your last flight goes well, have a beer for me! Oh and I think Emily meant time travel instead of travel time.
ReplyDeleteDavid, great job on the blog! Heh, it's great to read the inside scoop on the dog encounter. It may have been Ian's giant biodegradable detergent bottle, or those fancy shorts, Ian (family member here...)
ReplyDeleteGlad it all went well. Ian's kinesthetic self WOULD notice the diverse money feel / smell. Sounds like that money exchange went ok. Looking forward to Ian's photos on that Lumix, sometime soon... Happy travels and parts there beyond. I hope the accommodations go well. :-) on that! ~ Deb
Forecast for Christchurch New Zealand, Friday (Thursday here in the states): Clear & Sunny. High of 72°F. Winds from the NE at 10 mph.
ReplyDeleteLucky guys.
Man, I want to travel on THOSE planes! Sounds like first-class treatment for all. Hope you boys have fun. Can't wait to read about all of your adventures!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the amazing update (keep them coming). Nice to hear the adventure is going well. Sounds like a great place with super people.
ReplyDeleteYour loving MN family (back home)
We Skyped with Ian tonight. Amazing that we got such a clear signal and talking for a good amount of time. They are having quite the tour up by Te Mara. I posted a photo taken out their sleeping quarters window on Facebook and will send it to your family, David. LOVE the photos with the Paua and black abalone.
ReplyDeleteIan's got such wonderful stories and a great smile on his face. Thanks for your informative, fun blog posts & photos. 7 days, then it's off to Aussie-land. I'll bet you are both making the most of each and every day. Wonderful for you both. :-) ~ Deborah (Ian's mom)