Holiday Part 7

Alas yes, the holiday is now over and we're returned to the bosum of our home again.

Day 14:

Travelling day. We checked out from Franz Josef and jumped in the car. First north to Greymouth, then east to Christchurch.

It was a really long day, full of shady hills, picturesque hills, Japanese tourists and slow-moving vehicles in front of us! Highlights include:

* A very drunk whitebait fisherman in a meal-break pub, who kept trying to convince Mike that he should propose to me while trying to feel up my leg. Gross.
* LOTS of single lane bridges. Enough said.
* Shantytown near Greymouth. My lord, it was so... dodgy. Obviously a lot of effort has gone in by a lot of passionate people but crikey, it was pretty lame. M had fun looking at their steam engines, though.
* Stopping for lunch in Greymouth and finding everything shut.
* Trying to go on a Monteith's tour in Greymouth and finding it shut.
* Lots of insane speeding drivers making dangerous passes over Arthur's Pass. Mental, the lot of them.

We finally arrived at the Speight's Alehouse in Christchurch [see listings for Day 1], checked in and had a great dinner in the restaurant. Mike went on a walk around town while I crashed.

Day 15:

Lots to do. Step 1: Go to knitting shop (finally!). Only a few purchases, I promise! Step 2: Visit post office, post home assorted stuff that wouldn't fit in luggage, mostly gifts. Step 3: Find and visit Mike's friend Maria. It was really nice to meet another of M's friends from London while they reminisced and caught up. Step 4: Try to find kniotting shop #2, a bit difficult when it's closed down and is no longer there. Bummer. Step 5: No time to visit the Antarctic Centre, so return the car to the hire place, get a lift to the airport and settle in to Qantas Club - I love that place! So civilised! We also scored some sweet duty free including DVDs, music etc. We got Q Club uber treatement, got to board with the business-types as well as having our luggage pop out first at the other end - sweet!
The flight back to Sydney was fine - the diabetic meal was actually edible and we were a respectable distance from the movie screen, so there was no nostril close-ups this time. After landing, Sydney was so HOT! We made it into a cab and home, sweet home, to find my sister and our wonderful friends had left us stocked up.

You'd think all of this deserved a rest, but instead we went out to Coogee to see more of Mike's old London friends. After a few hours and a few drinks, we crashed back at home and slept. Ah, sleep!


So, that's the trip! I'm still on leave from work until next week (I need to recover, plus lots of knitting to do) so my plan is to take it VERY easy.

Cheers, H & M