The flight from Sydney was the second of our four flights to get home. We were in the air for about nine hours all the time edging closer to Bangkok where our next landing would be and very excitingly getting closer all the time to Christmas Day in Manchester. Luckily when we touched down at Bangkok we didn't have to leave the aircraft and go through the traumas of airport security again. They allowed us to remain on the aircraft whilst they gave it a quick clean and boarded more passengers. Soon we were whisked away in the air again to our next stop in Dubai. This flight, our third, took only about six and a half hours and before we knew it we were landing in Dubai. We both felt absolutely shattered now and weren't looking forward to our dash through Dubai Airport. We had to change planes here and we had just over an hour to do so. The airport was huge and frenetically busy and in order to get to the gate for our next flight we had to make our way through the mayhem to the other end of the terminal. There were a huge number of shops here and with the wild throngs of people dashing about here there and everywhere it was very much like the Trafford Centre on a Saturday afternoon! We eventually got to our gate, slumped down in some seats exhausted and waited for our flight to Manchester to be called. This was our fourth and final flight and we were very thrilled to be flying on an Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger airliner. Before too long we had boarded the plane and we were soon experiencing just how sleek and smooth the A380 is. This plane even in economy class was extremely comfortable. The seats were spacious and I had plenty of leg room. Also this flight wasn't completely full like the others had been and we had plenty of room to spread out. The view across the Dubai skyline as we soared upwards was absolutely stunning. We now had just under eight hours to go until we would be landing in Manchester. We'd been travelling for more than 24 hours and were completely shattered but it was so very exciting to be going home for Christmas. The closer we got to Manchester the more the sky clouded over. We had left Christchurch in summer and we were now close to being thrust into a cold British winter. The plane's descent into Manchester took us through layers of dark cloud before Manchester emerged below us looking very green but very cold. The plane touched us down on British soil pretty much spot on time at 11.20. It was brilliant to be home but it still felt a bit weird to be here after being away for so long. I have been away for 436 days and for Jay it's 350. After successfully negotiating passport control, baggage reclaim and customs we emerged from the airport to a cold but extremely wonderful Christmas Day with our families. It was an extremely chilly 3 degrees and the shorts and t shirt that I had on now seemed like a very bad idea!!!