Auckland to Adelaide

Our last day in Auckland was spent doing laundry, getting hair cut and generally packing up and getting ready to leave New Zealand.We had planned on getting the 5.30 am Airbus back to the airport but when we woke up at 4.00 am (!), it was pouring with rain.It was a 10 minute walk to the bus stop (in the rain) so Ant asked reception about taxis.We had just $80 left and we had been told it could be as much as $60/$70 for a taxi. What to do?Taxi to the airport or breakfast!!!!Luckily the hotel had a deal with a local taxi driver to do the airport run for $35 cash - so we could eat after all!!Consequently we arrived at the airport far too early and proceeded to check in.

We were able to do self check in which was really quick and easy - and then our troubles began. We knew we were over on our luggage allowance (but don't know how as we have exactly the same as we came out with!!!!), and had tried to spread the weight evenly over the 2 cases and even put some stuff in carry on.We thought we could probably get away with a couple of kilos each over but this was not to be the case.The guy at the bag drop suggested we pack one case to the limit (30 kilos) and pay the excess, leaving the other case at 23 kilos - he told us this would cost us $50.We then had to go to the check in desk to get all the paperwork filled out, followed by a trip to customer services to pay the excess which we are now told is $75!!!! ($50 applies to the rest of Australia - $75 for Adelaide only).The lady at check in also told us we could get away with 23.9 kilos on our smaller case.Back at the bag drop again, a different guy went through the whole process of telling us BOTH bags were overweight.We explained we had paid the excess and that we had been told 23.9 was ok.HE IGNORED US!!!We took one item out of the smaller case and transferred it to the heavy case and at 23.2 kilos he still put a heavy sticker on it!He refused to take the heavy case saying we had to go back to check in.As you can imagine I was getting really angry by now and whenever we tried to explain we had already paid the excess and been told to come to him he just ignored us!!! Back at the check in desk we explained to the lady we had dealt with before what had happened and she tried to tell him he had to take the case and he ignored her too!!! Eventually she took the case from us and apologised.

After a quick breakfast (it's only a 5 hour flight so we didn't think we got food on the plane), we finally boarded the plane and I found myself squashed in the middle seat between Ant and an extremely overweight guy.After we had taken off, one of the cabin crew offered him a free double seat and he refused!!!To make my miserable day even more complete, they did serve food but didn't have a vegetarian option.

On arrival at Adelaide airport, we quickly found our luggage and passed trouble free through customs and immigration.Outside the airport we eventually found the bus stop for the Skylink bus that would take us to our hotel. As we approached the bus stop, the bus was just pulling away and the driver wound down the window and told us there would be another one in 10 minutes (we knew the buses only ran half hourly!!!) - could the day get any worse???

Half hour later, we boarded the Skylink bus which dropped us right outside the door of our hotel in temperatures of 33 degrees Celsius (about 96 - 98 degrees Fahrenheit).As it was only 11.30 in the morning, our room was not available and as suspected they tried to upgrade us to a more expensive room that was available (strange that!!).As we had already spent so much money unexpectedly on taxis and excess luggage, we decided to wait for our room to be ready and the hotel stored our luggage for us. After a quick change in the toilets we headed out to explore Adelaide.

Adelaide is a beautiful city, and as we strolled down one of the arcades, it reminded me a little of The Great Western Arcade in Birmingham.The architecture here is older than I expected which is down to the first colonists who arrived in 1836 and built the city out of stone.Again, some of the buildings are reminiscent of home.The city also has a number of suburban parks and private gardens that make it a green city.Laid out by Colonel William Light in his original plan for the city in 1837, the ring of greenery contains 29 parks and covers an amazing 45% of the city.The parks have been preserved and enhanced since then and are an important natural asset to the city.We spent most of the afternoon strolling down Rundle Mall, the local shopping area, where we stocked up on all our toiletries and essentials for the next four weeks on KangarooIsland.Dinner tonight was from the Indian restaurant next door to our hotel, after Ant had paid a visit to the "pokies" - this is amusement arcade or slot machine to you and I!!!!

Wednesday was our only full day in Adelaide so after coffee and breakfast from the local coffee shop we caught the free bus that does a loop of Adelaide and links up the 4 terraces, North Terrace, South Terrace, East Terrace and West Terrace.Our first stop was Victoria Square (just like Birmingham!!) which, as you would imagine, has a statue of Queen Victoria in it and a fountain.This was also the location of the post office where we stopped to buy some stamps and postcards.We took a stroll down one of the streets off the square, stopping for more coffee and to write the postcards.We eventually found ourselves in the market where we were inspired to cook dinner that night rather than eat out (although we actually ended up buying dinner from the supermarket!!!!).The Adelaide Central Market has been trading since 1869 when a small group of farmers first carted their home grown fruit and vegetables to the site.Today it is the biggest undercover produce market in the Southern hemisphere filled with colour, activity and delicious smells and tastes.After another stroll down Rundle Mall, we caught the bus back to the hotel to pack away the shopping and have a little siesta.

Later in the afternoon, we jumped back on the bus and headed for the Botanic Gardens (don't we have one of those in Birmingham too?!!)This is one of Adelaide's best loved parks and has a superb collection of gardens, pavilions and both contemporary and heritage buildings.We saw some amazing birds here as well as giant lily pads (some bigger than our entire pond at home!!)After an hour in the gardens, we headed back to the hotel for dinner - we have more time in Adelaide when we return from KangarooIsland in 4 weeks time.