The Chronicles of NZ: Auckland….We’re Back! (Written 1/17/07)

So was our last day in Queenstown filled with jaw dropping excitement? Nope, it was just a very chill day of basically hanging around the hostel until it was time to leave for the airport. I was the first one awake and I got in some quality free internet time at the hostel. From chatting with my friends back home I realize it's finally starting to get cold in the states just as it's finally starting to feel like summer here – ironic! Eventually Josh and Kevin woke up and we all just hung around the hostel watching TV for a bit. At 1pm Josh and I left for the airport – it was finally time to leave Kevin to his travels. He apparently found a job and was waiting for his ride to come pick him up. After that farewell, Josh and I hopped on the big yellow bus (yes, a real big yellow bus) and headed for the airport. It was only about a 10-12 minute bus ride so not to far out of town but man did it make my walk yesterday seem exceedingly long!

The Queenstown airport is pretty small which is kind of odd since this is suppose to be one of NZ's prime tourist destinations. It felt like I was just at a local airport in the country. When I found our gate, there was no security there – I could have literally walked by the security checkpoint without being scanned…something tells me that wouldn't fly in the states. The security team finally showed up about 30 minutes before the plane was to take off, so we did eventually get scanned.

At first it was looking like our flight was going to be pretty light but a lot of people showed up about 20 minutes before the plane departed, so it ended up being a full flight. The plane ride itself was pretty good – a lot better then when I came to NZ. And with this plane ride I have traveled by car, air, boat and train all within NZ -  quite a versatile country they have here. The flight only took us about 1.15 minutes to make it to Auckland, so not a long journey at all. Carol, the woman who let us stay at her house before, picked us up from the airport and took us back to her house, which is where I will be until we leave on Saturday.

Being back in Auckland definitely gives this vacation a winding down feeling, which is nice. We still have a few errands to run in Auckland but for the most part I am just going to relax and be stress free for the next few days. Stress is waiting for me with a vengeance when I get back to Samoa so no need to rush it. L8r.