On the road again...

Holiday greetings from New Zealand to all of you!

After only two weeks back in the U.S., Dave and I and our good friend Steve from Salt Lake City, are traveling throughout New Zealand and Australia for the next 7 weeks. We connected in Los Angeles on Sunday night, Dec. 16th, and began the long trek back to the Southern Hemisphere. Neither Dave nor I had fully decompressed from the excitement of our recent adventures in East Africa before being caught up in frenzied preparations for another big trip... this time with bicycles!

As many of you know, this is a very special travel year for us, though not without time constraints because of Dave's business obligations. He needs to be back in California by the first week of February. So wanting to capitalize on seeing and doing as much as possible while visiting such far away places - plus coordinating times and logistics with Steve (and his wife Cathy in a couple of weeks) as well as our friends and acquaintances in both New Zealand and Australia - meant leaving sooner than we might have otherwise. And since New Zealand and Australia have long been on my list of places to visit before I die, I was thrilled when the plane actually touched down in Auckland.

Our preparations to leave, though, exhaust me to think about them. It was a wild road trip to LAX after spending the better part of at least four days packing lots of gear, disassembling bikes and making them fit the weight restrictions for flying internationally, pulling all-nighters, and coordinating plans with many other people. Finally, upon arrival exactly three hours before the flight, we met Steve who had already checked in and was waiting to help me with our gear -two large bike boxes and oversized (and overweight) duffle bags-while Dave went and parked the car.

Steve and I wheeled all of Dave's and my stuff over to check-in for the flight. Time ticked away. A very kind employee of Pacific Air sensed how frazzled I was, took pity on me, and rapidly shepherded us through check-in (where we had to pay extra for the bikes but not the bags!) and then over to a "secret" baggage screening area, bypassing hundreds of queued passengers, also flying out that night. I slipped my God-sent helper a tip with my heartfelt thanks and prayed that Dave would arrive in time to catch our flight.

Suddenly he was there! Another generous friend, at whose house we were leaving our car, had graciously offered Dave a ride to the airport. With no baggage, he quickly and easily checked in. The three of us then made our way through a long security line, expecting to make a dash for the plane which was supposedly boarding. We hurried to the gate, only to find the plane delayed about two hours! Once onboard, we all fell asleep, exhausted but happy to be en route.

After another delay in Fiji, we finally arrived in Auckland. At customs, we were assisted by a lovely airport volunteer named Margaret. She helped us navigate New Zealand's strict environmental entry restrictions and showed us where to go to be re-screened before being allowed to enter the country. She also gave us information on catching a shuttle to Herne Bay where our friend Kirsty was expecting us.

So here we are! We crossed the international date line and "lost" a day but only three or four "actual" hours time difference (just a day later)! So the jet lag has been manageable. We're really enjoying our time here with Kirsty, her French husband Pascal, and daughter Lilly. Today we rode our bikes all around Auckland, exploring different parts of the city, which seems similar in many ways to Seattle. Dave is assembling our bikes and shopping for a better front wheel for his. I'm catching up on email and beginning a new blog for this trip, though I don't know how much time we'll have to access internet as we ride.

We head for the South Island early tomorrow a.m.; (it's now Thursday, Dec. 20th and I can't seem to figure out how to change the date-heading)! First we'll take a 12 hour train trip to Wellington, spend an overnight and a day there, then a ferry to Picton on Saturday. Then down the rugged west coast, toward mountains and glaciers - classic storybook New Zealand. Can't wait! To be continued ...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, Judy