As expected, some family came to the airport to see us off. My parents and a small army of Carmens family including parents, grandparents, siblings and aunties. It was an emotional time for some, with tears welling in the eyes. I personally think its was the thought of me actually leaving home for my parents.

The flight(s) went pretty well. We headed off from Christchurch airport at about 10:30am and were effectively in the air for 18 hours. The stops in Auckland and Sydney were brief, almost to the point where we were running between terminals to catch the connecting flight. The flight to Sydney was only half full, so we managed to spread out and take up as much room as we could. However the next leg of the journey was packed. I managed to find a fat old man to sit next to, although I wasn't sitting next to him as much as I was under him. Got to watch Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King again, as well as Along came Polly.

Neither of us managed to sleep much on the flights, so when we got to the hotel (Century Park Hotel) at 12pm (6am New Zealand time) we almost hit the bed already sleeping. Unfortunately, we awoke at about 5am fully awake, stupid body clock!