Wellington not Waitomo caves 😪

Despite there being a British embassy in Auckland, it is not possible to have documents printed in Auckland
So ,instead of a trip to the Waitomo Glowworm Caves, I was up at 3.30am to get a 7am flight to Wellington, the capital city. The alternative is a 10hr bus or 10hr train journey, cheaper by far ,but would only get one way in the day and time is of the essence.
I never take my driving licence on holiday, but this time I had it and so able to fly to Wellington,as it acts as photoID. I took all my luggage as id no idea how the day was going to pan out and the last thing I needed was the complication of my being in Wellington and my luggage still in Auckland
I arrived so early I actually got moved ,by the staff to the 6.30am flight.
Arrived in Wellington at 7.30am, had a brew and sat around the airport till 10.45am,when I got a taxi to the Embassy.
And then it happened .the bloody bus company emailed to say they'd found my bag with passport in it I was fuming .How ?!! when i reported my bag missing within 10mins of being off the bus has it taken 2 days to find it ....appalling customer service!
Ar the Embassy, I was issued with an Emergency passport that will cover admission to Canada and to get home.
However, as my original passport was now cancelled, so was the associated essential Canadian visa ,so I had to reapply for that too..
I asked the guy at the embassy if I could complete it in their office so that if there were any problems the embassy could help ,to which they agreed.
I applied online through a site that could offer a reply in an hour .The bank interrupted the payment and I had to ring the Uk
I assured them it was me and the payment went through. I went to the cafe at the library in Wellington to have a brew and wait for the results of my application.
After an hour and a half ,I'd heard nothing and repeated the process on a site saying official Canadian ETA site ,the reply came in seconds which alerted me to the fact the other payment that the bank interrupted, probably was a scam 😳. I contacted the bank again to report this.
With emergency passport in hand and Canada 🇨🇦 entry authorisation complete, I booked a return flight at 2.30pm ...for 5.30pm return to Auckland ,followed by taxi back to the airport.
The flight to Auckland took an hour, then bus back to the centre of Auckland and taxi, (as I was knackered,) to my hotel
Its been an experience I'd rather not ,ever have to repeat ,but sorted. I only hope i will be allowed into Canada...The ETA visa document Has to be obtained before flying out of your present company,or you cannot board the flight, so having had it granted, I'm a little more hopeful that I can continue my travels.
The experience hasn't put me off or made me homesick .I'm glad it's been in Nz where the language isn't an issue. I'm also able to be thankful that I've not come to any harm and the problem is resolvable
I think maybe it was an attempt to stay indefinitely in Nz! 🤣..Read more