Cashed up and ready to go

The cases are almost ready to close but there is still room to squeeze in a few more things! Today was taken up with banking, arriving in Christchurch Airport only a few minutes shy of midnight it is too late to pick up the hire-car so money is needed to pay for the shuttle bus that will take us to our hotel. With $100 Aussie dollars I purchased $125 Kiwi dollars. That will be a good start. The exchange rate also means that mental conversion will be really easy - in fact I doubt if it will be done at all!

The small rigid case will be filled with camera gear and with a few kitchen essentials - we will be self catering. Picnic cups, a thermos flask, plates and cutlery take up some of the space - but it is the batteries, tapes and chargers that take up most!

It doesn't look as if we are taking many clothes, does it? I think we shall be living in our fleeces and coats and jeans which is why the T's and undies don't fill the one and only case! We shall be wearing a fleece and have a coat over an arm as we board the plane. It will be chilly when we arrive.

So, we leave home at 4.30 tomorrow afternoon, the plane leaves at 6.30.

There will be no blog entry tomorrow but I am hoping that I will find somewhere with wireless Internet so that I can communicate on Wednesday.

While in the bank I was reminded to ring VISA and inform them that I was going overseas. Its just as well I was reminded because I had forgotten. I got onto the phone as soon as I arrived home and you would not believe it, once the technical stuff was out of the way I started chatting with the girl on the other end. She asked where in NZ I was going and remarked that it would be cold but better weather than she was having - it turned out she was in Wellington NZ (North Island)! You never know where the call is going when you ring a 13 number!

Ah well, your next communication from me in this blog will be from Christchurch NZ (South Island). After the heat and humidity of the past few days the chill of NZ will probably make me wish I was back at home! It will be a big contrast.

AJ