Back in the Air Again.

THE SKIES. 3 NOVEMBER 2024.

We're awakened during the night by someone trying to open our door. Then, there's a lot of slamming of doors so another patchy night's sleep. The alarm goes off at 5:45 am and we're in the taxi by 6:20. Facing a long queue, we're fortunately shown how to use the self check in and bag drop. Strangely, we pass through border control before security. This takes place just before the gate.

We're joined in the row by Ash, a young man from New Zealand. He's spent the last month trekking in the Himalayas. Fog had set in at the airport so he missed his original flight and spent 27 hours driving across rugged terrain. He showed us some stunning photos of Everest at sunset.

The flight takes 9 hours and, with the time difference, we land at 11:30 pm. Rosie brought a banana on-board but we're not allowed to take it in to New Zealand. Paul eats it, puts the skin into a bin but Rosie keeps the plastic bag. Again, we strike it lucky with the queue, a female guard opens a barrier and we're quickly through border control. The same thing applies at the Biohazard Section. Then, as we're about to leave, the sniffer dog picks up the smell of the banana and Rosie has to empty her rucksack.

The agent is still working so collecting the car is easy. We're allocated a Mazda CX-5. We're lucky the previous client who selected Wi.d Card ended up with a 8 seater minibus.

The receptionist is still working so check-in easy and we're in bed by 1:30 am.