The longest day
Wednesday 28th September 2005 is now ranked up there as the longest day we’ve ever had, but more about that later.
We are now in South Africa, and writing this at 5am from a bed & breakfast in East London!
Our last week or so in New Zealand was a wee bit strange, it was kind of like being in limbo because we had to move out of our house on the 18th to allow our tenants to move in, and our flights were not leaving Queenstown until the 27th. We are not sure what we would have done without the generosity of all our friends who housed and fed us during our homeless state. A big thank you to everyone we stayed with, and also thanks to all of you who so kindly offered, it was all very much appreciated.
Stewart Island
Since we had a few days to while away we took the opportunity to visit Stewart Island and it was a well needed break away from all our preparations. We had a lovely time relaxing – we spent our three days there reading, walking and eating some delicious fresh fish while admiring the stunning views. It is a beautiful little island and well worth a visit.
And so it was that we could no longer prolong the inevitable emotional departure from our home of the past four years. We had a bit of a farewell do in Queenstown on Saturday night, which had a knock on effect on how we, and a few of our friends, felt on Sunday morning!
If things go according to plan with our VSA assignment in South Africa, we will not return to our home in New Zealand with the views that we will no doubt miss, until the end of January 2008.
Back to the longest day
Okay back to the longest day.
It started in a Christchurch airport motel with a very early morning (or rather middle of the night) wake up call at 3.30am! Our international flight left at 5.50am for Sydney where we had a few hours to kill before the 14 hour onward flight to Johannesburg.
There is no getting away from the fact that it was a very long flight all the while seeming to chase daylight, but the amazing views over the Antarctic made it all worthwhile. The pilot who had been flying for 30 years said he had never seen such impressive views of this unique continent. It all felt even more relevant due to the fact that we had just spent the previous afternoon in the very educational Antarctic Centre in Christchurch.
We arrived late afternoon in Johannesburg, and on the connecting flight to East London, we were relieved at last to see the sun set. We’d had 22 hours of daylight – it would soon be bed time and at this stage nothing else mattered!
The fact that Sharon’s backpack did not make it with us to East London was of no concern – we were in Africa now! We were met at the airport by two VSA volunteers who drove us to our B&B (The Gate House in Quigney). And the surprising news was that the missing back pack turned up at 9.30pm just as we turned down the sheets at the end of the longest day (about 28 hours after we got out off bed)!
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