Hobart to Sydney to Auckland

It was time to move on to a different country. I really enjoyed my time in Sydney and Tasmania. There was so much to see and do and the people were wonderful. The temperatures averaged in the mid-twenties, mostly sunny/partly cloudy, and the couple of times it rained was late in the evening or overnight. Although I did encounter other solo travellers some people were curious about my spontaneous journey and I got a lot of encouragement. My accent was mistaken for being Irish and British but the funniest was when a MONA staffer asked where I was from. He thought I sounded like the actors in the movie “Fargo”. When I told him I lived about 300 km from the city of Fargo we both laughed but I did emphasize I was Canadian!

I had an early flight to Sydney and was concerned about the morning rush hour traffic so I bolted out of my apartment in time to catch the 0730 Skybus to the airport. The pick-up spot was only 2 blocks away but it was all uphill. Just as I reached the intersection the bus pulled away :( Fortunately he saw me and waited until I crossed the street. I got to the airport so early that the Virgin Australia staff hadn’t even arrived.

The flight to Sydney was only 1.5 hours. I struck up a conversation with the woman beside me as she was my age. We had a lot in common and talked non-stop making the flight go quickly. Later her husband thanked me for keeping his wife occupied! My layover was 1.5 hours but Sydney is such a big airport, especially since I had to go from the Domestic to International terminal, that as I got to the gate they were boarding people. The flight to Auckland was only 2 hours and there was no one sitting in the middle seat. Shortly after take-off my seat mate started a conversation with me as he saw me working on my blog. He was 28, from France, and travelling to several countries in the world for one year. Such an interesting man. Again we talked for the whole flight, sharing photos and travel tips. He was impressed with the Hawaiian wedding photos, thinking they were from the professional wedding photographer :)

When I went through customs in Auckland I declared that I had some nuts in my carry-on. They announced on the plane that no food was allowed into New Zealand so I made sure to eat the apple that I had in my bag. And wouldn’t you know it, the agriculture dog zeroed in on me. The dog handler had to go through my bag looking for whatever the dog had sniffed out. I explained that I was taught well by my CBSA daughter and son-in-law. She laughed and said the dog must have picked up the scent of the apple.

I had reserved an airport hotel for the night because I didn’t want to arrive in a big city at night, thinking back to the issues I had when I arrived late in Sydney. On the shuttle bus I met a couple from Atlanta who had travelled for 42 hours to get to Auckland. We had dinner together that evening and good conversation.

Now I had to adjust my watch again as we were 2 hours ahead of Australia. I am giving up on trying to figure out what time it is at home, in Alberta, in BC, and in CA, all places where friends and family are. It’s just too mind-boggling!Read more