January:
11_12_13_14_15_16_17_18_19_20_21_22_23_24_25_26_27_28_29_30_31_
February:
1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_10_11_12_13_14_15_16_17_18_19_20_21_22_23_24_25_26_27_28_
March:
1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_10_11_12_13_14_15_16_17_18_20_22_23_24_25_
Itinerary
Dan or Justy
We fucked up. We did not leave enough time to get to the airport. No excuse, just stupidity. So, we ended up relying on the kindness of strangers. In this case, Air New Zealand. Luckily for us, they are unbelievably nice and got us on an international flight (after re-packing our mind-boggling overweight bags) when we arrived just 50 minutes before it departed. Lots of karma earned here.
The flight was uneventful. I chatted with a British long-time Australian resident named Allan. Justine fashioned a voodoo doll of me and then couldn't find any sharp objects (thank you 9/11 !)
We were met by the most impressive sunset of our travels. A sunset that was either the end of the world, or the beginning. All over the sky, and reaching down to keep our attention. I can't remember a sunset I was more awed by.
Airport nighmare, city and traffic, sweat and tears . . .
Have you ever REALLY been late to the airport? I havent. So, when on monday morning, our 'PLAN' to get to there on time started to fall apart...so did I.
Our flight to Auckland meant international travel, packing EVERYTHING we had into neat bags, returning the car to Wicked, making sure my film doesnt get x-rayed, minding the couple bottles of wine we have, catching breakfast, and all this on a monday morning..in Sydney...we both forgot about THE TRAFFIC!
All in all, it wasnt any one thing that made us late. It was an acccumulation of minutes, the photocopying of a map to find the rental drop off area for the van, the checkout of the campervan park, the cab drivers insistence on NOT parking where we needed to be closest to the gate...all this added up to us arriving 55 minutes before our flight was due to fly, with 3 TOO HEAVY bags, hungry, sweaty and me, well I was on the verge of an abyss.
With a brand new bag neatly (NOT!) repacked, and the airline walkie-talkies buzzing about the 2 passangers they are walking through the airport to our gate...for the first time ever I heard my name (our names actually) over the airport loudspearkers: 'Will passengers Justine Szymala and Daniel Stocker get your asses on the plane. Everyone is waiting for YOU!.' I was ready to cry.
Other than that, the flight was grand!
| Itinerary Highlights | ||
| January |
20: Winery Tour 21-23: Moreton Bay Diving 25: Australia Zoo 26-30: Lady Elliot Island |
|
|---|---|---|
| February |
13: Diving the Yongala 15-17: Cape Tribulation + Daintree Rain Forest 17-20: Atherton Tablelands 22-28: Coral Sea Diving Liveaboard |
|
| March |
11-13: OzTek Dive Conference: Sydney 14: Fly to New Zealand 20: Poor Knights Islands Diving 31: Mt. Cook |
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| April |
2-4: Queenstown TBD: To Be Dreamed |
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Digital Pix Courtesy of Shimmivision.com
More Digital and Film Pix Coming Soon.