Farewell New Zealand

We've been up and down like a .... (your own favourite slang term to be added here). Christchurch to Sydney, Sydney to Bangkok, Bangkok to Dubai. About 26 hours in transit until we arrived at our desert hotel resort, Bab Al Shams, Gateway to the Sun. We only spent 55 minutes in Sydney but Marian was picked out for a full body search and I was picked out and scanned for drugs. We can't wait to go back for a longer visit!

On Tuesday we met up with a friend from home. Viv is out in Christchurch where her husband is doing a combining some work with a holiday for three months. She very kindly picked us up and took us to the Botanic al Gardens for a coffee and a stroll around. We had to check out of the hotel at 10.30 and weren't being picked up for the airport until 2 pm so it was great to be able to fill that time with some fresh air, conversation and Viv's insights into the city that she's come to know quite well over the years.

It was very nice that we could check into the hotel and get into our room straight away when we arrived at 8 am, so now we can put our feet up, relax, freshen up and see what the day holds.

I'd like to thank all the lovely kiwi people here on blip who've given us tips for things to do and to see and also to all the great people we've met on the way. It's been a wonderful trip. My blip is a few favourite shots of New Zealand (you have to find something to do on these long flights) and they're laid over a shot I took, through the plane window of the sun going down, somewhere over Australia between Sydney and Alice Springs.

David