Thursday October 25 - Saturday October 27 (Thames Ditton to Napier)

Thursday
It was partly cloudy day but the sun did peep through at times.


I spent some time this morning finishing my packing and only had a few items left to be put away after a shower. My car was due to pick me up at 5.15 pm as my flight was at 10.15 pm so I did not have to rush. I uploaded photos into my blog so it was all up-to-date. I did manage some time with Rocky, he is certainly an interesting fellow!

After lunch I had my shower and then Nigel took me for a spin in his sports car, roof down. It was very cool. On our return we sat down and had tea and cake, it was meant to be my birthday cake but we had not had the opportunity to eat it! It was delicious!

About 5 pm my phone went and it was my driver telling me he was outside but to take my time. He told me later that he had misread the pickup time and had actually been there snce 4.15, lol! So it was time to make my farewells and I got very emotional, not unusual! 

I had so thoroughly enjoyed my visit and valued the time I had spent with Wendy, Nigel and the kids. We had some lovely trips as they live so close to many beautiful parks. I thanked the boys who had each given up their bedroom for me to use. They took it in turns to sleep in the outside pod.. I had really bonded with Eliza through our shared love of animals and, at nine, she was old enough to really have conversations with. They all enjoy their sports and the boys were into game playing (PS4), Eliza has her gymnastics and is also learning the violin. They all also seem to be performing well at school. 

The Eastbourne visit was thoruoghly enjoyable, catching up with cousins, lunch with an old school friend and meeting with some people from a FB group I belong to meant my time was very full. I had a couple of interesting side trips were also enjoyable. Meeting up with Pauline an FFRC and FB friend for many years was another highlight. I was also privileged to meet and enjoy lunch with one of ther daughters. We had a lovely time and a lot of laughs, Pauline gave me three pieces of her wonderful glasswork and they all arrived home safely, thank goodness.

In spite of the changes to the Itinerary due to the low water in the upper Rhine, the cruise was another highlight, the Mosel Valley is very beautiful and was well worth the visit. I also met some lovely people and have some new American friends. I was also pleased to visit the Cat Boat in Amsterdam.

The driver did not use the M25 as he said it would be extermely busy at this time so we used other roads and there were a couple of traffic james but it was not too nad and we reached Heathrow Terminal 3 in 45 minutes. Unlike most other airports, Heathrow does not have labelled doors for departures for different airlines and the drop off area is quite a way from the main door. After explaining to the police, the driver helped me inside with my luggage but there were no signs indicating where the different airlines were siiuated. the drive finally found someone to ask and he took my luggage to the Emirates area, it was so kind of him!

After checking in and sending my checked bag on its way, I was taken to the lounge and spent the rest of the tiime there. I sat next to a lovely couple from Penarth, near Cardiff, and we spent the time until their plane left chatting away. He also plugged in his charger so I could charge my IPad, the USB ports did not work, neither did the WiFi. I felt this could have been communicated to us at reception and they should have then announced when it was up again. I had wasted 20 minutes trying to connect!

The couple were off to spend a week together in Dubai just chilling out, it meant the time passed very pleasantly. their plane was actually at the gate right in front of where we were sitting, lol! Once they left I just relaxed and ate some baked cod for dinner, it was very tasty. Later I had a coffee along with a Baileys and ice. By this time, the plane I was to fly on had arrived and pulled up to the gate in front of me.

Finally, it was time for boarding and the flight to Dubai which would take just under 7 hours. The BC section of the plane was fairly full. We had some good views of the M25 and surrounds as we took off. I then watched a film, "Ocean's Eight", light but fun, and only had soup for dinner. I did not manage to sleep although did lie back and relaxed. it was a relatively smooth flight.

Friday
We landed safely in Dubai, it was 27 C already at 8.00 am, phew! 


It was interesitng watching the camera as we came in to land, the sand is almost a grey colour. 

I spent the time I had to wait for my plane to Auckland in the loungs and just had a cup of coffee. Then it was time to board for the 16 plus hour flight to Auckland.

This BC section was also fairly full and I noticed one or two people who had also come from Heathrow. 

After a light lunch, I had my bed made up and settled down to see if I could sleep. I did manage some broken sleep for a few hours. 

I felt a bit hungry and went down to the bar for a sandwich. just as I arrived we hit some turbulence, so had to belt up and it went on for well over an hour. I was keeping an eye on the flight map and as I watched our tail wind was increasing, it reached 90 km/hr at one point! We were being blown to Auckalnd, lol!

I also had am Amarula and ice as they did not have Baileys. I chatted for some time with one of the flight attendants, a lovely lass!

Once I returned to my seat I managed a wee bit more sleep before breakfast.

Saturday
We landed in Auckland about 20 minutes early amd I could not beleve how quiet it was through passport control, there were no queues at all, lol. My checked bag was off nice and early and then we went through security, again it was absolutely empty. I have never ever been through that process so quickly. We dropped my bag off and then I was taken to wait for the bus to the domestic terminal. 

I spent the time before my flight in the Regional Lounge and had coffee and a couple of sandwiches. It was a good flight to Napier and we landed about ten  minutes early. My friend Andrea met me and took me home. So another great trip came to an end. I was exhausted as it took 24 hours to travel from Heathrow to Auckland, most of it in the air.