Day 1: Sydney to Christchurch

The plane was delayed but we caught up some time on the trip and arrived at about 2:15 NZ time. It was a very smooth and quiet flight on an Emirates Airbus 300. They have upgraded their entertainment system since the last time I flew Emirates, and now seem to have just about every film there is available. So I caught up on the end of Shazam! and the end of Ant-Man, both of which I had seen most of on other flights. Shazam was a little disappointing, although it started well; it was an example of the superhero-somehow-knows-everything-he-needs-to-just by-being-a-superhero trope.

There was a Vodaphone booth in the duty-free area at the airport, and they installed a NZ simcard in my phone. It was all so quick that I didn't have a chance to check it, but once I adjusted the settings afterwards it was fine.

From there I rang Hitch rentals for their shuttle bus, and that took me to their office, where I rented a little grey Honda. All very quick. And my accommodation is only a kilometre or so away, in a suburb of Chirstchurch called Bishopsford.

It's a 'tiny house' built on a trailer to make it portable; so it's long and narrow, with a kitchen and bathroom at one end and a loft with a mattress above. All very clean and tidy, but a little cramped.

From here I walked up to the local shops and bought some provisions. I couldn't find an ATM at the airport, but there was one here and -- thank goodness -- it worked, so I am now equipped with NZ dollars. The exchange rate is roughly 1:1 now, and prices seem to have gone up here a bit, so it will be a little more expensive than I had thought, but all accommodation is paid for already.

It was warm and a little sticky in the afternoon but at night it settled down and we got some rain. I had ham and cheese on bread for dinner, and a can of Indian Kingfisher beer. Read till bedtime and slept fairly well, though with vivid dreams.



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Jon Jermey
Indexer and database consultant
042 535 0422
webindexing.com.au

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