Post Number One - Travel to South Island from Oz

We left Gympie 143km North of Brisbane Airport, at 4:38am on the 20th of September 2012. We had a fairly clear run and arrived at Alpha Airport Parking at 6:45 just a half an hour earlier than expected. No problem with booking the car in. Just AUD 220 for the 28 days we will be away.

Off to Christchurch NZ

The shuttle took us to the Brisbane International and we were glad that we arrived early for our Virgin Australia flight DJ 81 to Christchurch leaving at 9:45 am. Their check in was very fussy. One carry on was 9.7kilos and the other was 8.4 kilos. They were supposed to be 7kilos. The checked in bag was 19. something and could have been twenty three kilos. so she made us take 1.4kilos out of Esther's and two kilos out of mine and put them into the Checked-in bag. it was now bulging at the seams. She explained that the man down stairs would send us back up if they were not under 7. Well now one was 6. something and the other 8.6kilos. so she let us book-in.

The checking through security and passport control took ages. There were long zigzag lines which were very slow to say the least. Old bones seemed to be standing for hours in the lines. we finally got through and headed for the Coffee club before the flight. We took off on time but arrived 30 minutes early into Christchurch. The Pilot came on and said it is 8 degrees Celsius and blowing a steady southerly.

We expected Debbie and Emmie at the airport but we were through so quickly that we were out before they had parked the car. No Debbie? We asked where they have pass through and pickup. It was over under the carpark and the the Southerly was tunnelling through there at 20 knots. We tried to shelter from the blast but Esther got thoroughly chilled. We waited for about 25 minutes and no one came. Esther decided to go back into the terminal and look for them. It was quite a way back and she quickly found them. She eventually returned and collected me. Debbie must have arrived just after we had left the building and she had waited for nearly 30 minutes.

It was so good to find our family and arrive at Woodend a beautiful suburb 24 minutes to the north of Christchurch.