Le commencement

After a long gestation and help of friends I have finally settled on the title.  At the moment it is called "Voyages en hiver" which gives the idea of travelling in the northern hemisphere.  I might put a colon in with une celebration after it. 

We are sitting in the Koru Lounge waiting for the boarding call.  It is relatively quiet as I think we will be pretty much the last flight out of Auckland. 

Today, Thursday 27 January, has been both frantic and relaxed. 

Leaving is always a struggle for me.   This time was no different.  Even though I had pretty much packed my bag before going over to Picton for Christmas I came back with the little list in my head of things that needed to be packed and it all started to mount up  to such an extent that I thought I was going to have too much.  In the end it all fitted in my bag without having to use the expansion on it. 

I tried to sleep in and sort of managed it.  I had a list of things I needed to do before leaving which included getting my new glasses, the washing and tidying the house.  I also needed to return things to Natasha.  It all took much more time than I thought, so much so that I was rushing a bit before Morwen and Andrew turned up to take me to the airport.  However, I managed to get the flat vacuumned and cleaned before I  left.  The only really odd thing was that my backpack seemed to be too empty.  Still not sure what I left behind.

The flight to Auckland left on time and I had a nice conversation with a  retired accountant. Then all of a sudden I was off the plane and walking through the warm air to the international terminal.

Bev’s flight from Sydney arrived a bit early and I met her at the transfer area and after a little walk we went to the Koru Lounge where I finally decided on the blog name. 

We were boarded on time and then had to wait for about 45 minutes for them to repair a leaky part of the water system.  The plane was packed.  I went for a walk through the plane and there would have only been about three empty seats.

Next thing we rumbling and clattering down the runway for what seemed quite some time  and then all of a sudden the nose lifted, followed by banging and clattering ceasing  and we were climbing into the dark sky. 

The flight went well.  We had a light meal after we took off, and I availed myself of tastes of the wines on offer including a mandatory glass of bubbles.  I slept off and on during night although it was  fitful. We arrived in Hong Kong at around 6:45am.   For me this marks the first day of the adventure which will be another post.