This blog is for both the 1st and 2nd of March as they blended in to on very long day!

So, this was what we hadn't been looking forward to - our last day together and it was set to be a long one! I had been worried so, typically, hadn't slept at all well the night before. Got up and checked outby 8 and jumped on a kiwi bus for the last time. Half of the bus were being dropped off at the airport and the other half were carrying on to Kaikora. Because its such a long trip to Kaikora ( normally there's too nights inbetween at Christchurch but it is shut off because of the earthquake) any of the scheduled stops for the day were swapped with quick toilet stops. We got a quick trip to the supermarket about 10 mins in to the journey and picked up some drinks and cereal bars for the airport. Carried on for a looong time and got to Geraldine. Was gutted when we only had 5 minits there :-( My nan used to live there and all my family had been to stay there. I would have really liked to look around, and maybe found the cafe Dave worked! I saw the rafting centre too and wanted to go and introduce myself as my nan knows the people that work there. but, we got back on the bus pretty swiftlly and kept going. At 4 o clock, 8 hours after we left, we arrived at the Antarctic centre, about a 5 min walk from the airport. I was absolutely gutted when there was a closed sign on the dorr - I thought it might have been closed but the driver reckoned it would be open so i had got my hopes up. Its like a mini Seaworld really, with penguins and 4D shows and an ice experience but.... I stopped reading after that as I would rather not know haha! Its usually open 9am-7pm every day, so I could have gone in at 9 in the morning till my check in at 3. Instead I had to accept that I had 25 hours ahead of me until my flight. If the Kiwi bus dropped off only 1 hour earlier, I could have stayed in Queenstown another night and got the bus the next day in percfect time for check in. I definatley had the worst possible flight time. In hindsight, I really should have phoned the airport to see if I could arrange a later check in. We sat outside the Antarctic Centre as it was sunny but after an hour it started to rain so we made our way to the airport. We tried our luck seeing if there was vacancy at a hotel we passed but , as we expected, they looked at us as if we were crazy! We we went to the airport. Its under a big reconstruction so looks really run down anyway, but because of the quake hardly anything that is there is open. Just one little shop, a bar/grill, an arcade area and thats it. It was a lot quieter than i expected and theres a really eerie sad feel to it :-( I wasn't looking forward to my time here. Decided to drop off our main bags so we didn't have to worry abut them. Cost 7 pounds 50, not sure we should have bothered really as I havent moved since I've been here but at least theyre safe. Made our way to a seating area upstairs and found a bench long enough for the both of us to lay on. Its narrow but better than seats. Im not sure the airpports been cleaned since the quake so its a bit grubby, but understand they must have biggger priorities! The bar/grill said it was open till half 8 so we sat for a couple of hours then went there at 8 to find it was closed! We were again gutted as a meal would have been nice and killed some time. We'd waited till 8 so we would be hungry. We went back to our bench and tried to ring mum to let her know i was at the airport ok, as i said i would, but Mike had no signal on his phone... kind of think this was for the best though as i was feeling pretty teary and wouldnt have wanted her to hea me like that - just hope she's not worried as i wont be able to contact her for a while. As we'd been at the bar/grill, a women had sat at the end of our bench with her bags next to her.After about an hour of trying to get comfy in the space we had, i tried suggesting we asked her to move her bags (there were soooo many seats free we didnt see why she was SAT on a bench we clearly wanted to LIE on) but she said she wanted to lay down which was fair enough. Me and Mike hadnt put our bags out as we'd felt it would have been selfish but have decided we need to start being more selfish after this trip! Anyway, accepted we should have put our bags on the bench but was then sooo annoyed when the womans laptop ran out of battery so she went and sat on the other side of the room next to a plug socket for over TWO hours, but left her stuff on the bench!! Grr. Mike would have been happy lying on the floor but it was really dirty so 2we got some plastic chairs, pushed them up next to the bench and after lots of rearranging (the chairs were all different shapes and heights) found something he could lay on. Not exactly comfortable! Put my iPod on and got some rest - not sleep but rest. The iPod didn't drown out the sound of the same announcements being played again and again!! Annoying. While we were lying down we felt an aftershock fromm the quake which was pretty scary, really shook us around and lasted quite a while. Scary to think what the actual quake would have been like. After several hours Mike got up so I could have the bench to myself and I got some sleep which was good. Mike woke me up at 4am as he had to check in. He did so with no problems then had to wait till 6 to go to his gate. We sat chatting, it was so hard. I knew it would be when I first aasked him to come with me, but still didn't like it :-( Had been such a brilliant trip, we got on so so well as we had the same ideas about how we wanted to approach each day and I loved sharing the trip with him. Less people had travelled on their own than i expected and I was feeling really afraid of going to Oz on my own. And I wasn't looking forward to waiting in the spooky airport alone! When he left it was really hard, I didn't want him to go at all. I said goodbye at the bench so I wouldnt loose it. As soon as he left I put on my iPod really loudly and thought of anything but my trip ahead and Mike being gone. Focused so much on the music! U didn't want to see or hear his flight leave as i didn't want to get upset. I eventually got some sleep but looking at my iPod realized it had only been for a couple of songs. Laid on the bench trying to rest until half 8, then did some sukodu but it was boring and allowed my mind to wonder. 9am hit me hard as it would have been time for me to go to Antarctic World and then the boredom would have been over. So, I wrote this blog on paper to type up later to take my mind off things but the reality is i still have 6 hours till I can even check in! When the bar opens i might get food but Im not hungry at all, think im sick with nerves! The air con has set my cold off again too, it was soooo nearly gone. Not what I need...

So it is now 3.34 and I am counting down the time till I can leave! Cant wait.... if the earthquake hadn't have happened I'd have just got to the airport from the hostle in Christchurch. In hindishgt I should have got off in Geraldine, stayed the night somewhere then got a taxi here the next day. Would have cost a lot but this has been really horrible. Then I would have got a good nights sleep AND got to explore Geraldine. I laid down after writing the last blog and thought there was another aftershock but the guy next to me had done a massive fart. Because the bench is plastic, I nearly fell off! Did a bit more boring sukoku then decided to read my book , Fight Club, to occupy my mind. I hadnt started it so made it my focus to finish ut by the time I got on my flight. Could have easily done it but got nearly half way through and gave up as it was just tooo depressing. It is a good book but even darker than the film and just went on and on about what a rubbish world we live in - not the attitude I want as I go off travelling! So tried to sleep again, just so time wuld go quicker, but it was no use. The airport was quickly getting busy. had been on the same bench for nearly 8 hours and decided I needed to move and had to give up on the idea of sleep. Left the bench and went for a walk. Looked in a few souvernier shops that had opened but there wasn't a lot. There was an Antarctic Center shop, jsut to rub it in that it was shut, with the CUTEST cuddly toys but cuddling them made me feel really teary. I was feeling lonely! Asked the lady in the shop if the center was still shut and she said it would be until 14th. Resisted the urge to buy a cuddly penguin and stopped myself reading too much of the brouchure. Just hope the penguins are okay! Went to the arcade and treated myself to a racing game! Came 8th out of 8! Has been a long time sincce I have been in the drivers seat! Was fun for the 2 mins it lasted though. Although it wasn't sunny outside I was desperate to get out. No one was sat out like yesterday, but there was a bench on a bit of grass outside. Lots of builders around but it was nice to get fresh air and I got a mag out - much better than the book! The reason no one else was outside was because it was SOO windy!!! Never seen it so windy anywhere. My day bag is siper heavy but even that was getting blown away, had to wrap it round my leg! Had a cereal bar and finished our drinks so I wouldnt have to carry them arund. Should have saved some as I am thirst now. Mike gave me his money for if i needed anything, cuddly toy not included - hope he has saved enough for himself!!! He will be getting on his flight to Hong Kong now... makes me realize how long I have been here... he had his flight then a 7 hour wait at Auckland! At least he only has one more flight change now :-) Anyway where was I... ues so I sat in the wind reading my mag. Think i was there about an hour and a half, my mag was ripping and everything... quite glad Mike wasnt there to laugh at my mad hair! Went back inside and my desk opened at 2. There was a MASSIVE queue but i thought I would join it so I would at least feel some progress. The flight goes on to Dubai so there were lots of people getting on - mianly very rich looking OAPs who were in their best dress haha. Went and picked up my luggage - they thought they'd lost it at first! - and got it. Wanted to sort out the straps so I could wear it as a bag - me and Mike had meant to do it early but hadd forgotten - but it was hopeless, really frustrating. Didnt feel like there was anyone around I could ask either :-( So I gave up and got in the queue. Asked the people behind if i was in the right queue and they said yes then let me put my bag on the trolley which was nice. Didn't realy talk after that though. It took exactly 45 mins in the queue till I checked in. Checked in ok, would told it would be an hour and a half till I could go to my gate. So, i am sat on my old bench now writing this!! Want to go outside again but am saying in incase theres any announcement for my flights. 2 have just been cancelled but htey are domestic so fingers crossed mine will be ok. Cant wait to leave but keep forgetting i then have a 4 hour flight! 40 mins to go so think I will have another go on the racing game then keep moving until I am stuck sat on the flight. Just seen I have officially been here 24 hours! Its felt it, too! Could have flown to the other side of the world int hat time :-o Hardest thing had been seeing soo many people come and go, and seeing soo many flights with other airlines going to Sydney. :-(

Hands at 10 and 2 o clock - check. Seat close to the pedals - check. Glasses on - check. Still came last, again!! Wish I had more change for another go haha! Anyway, when it was time I went through security and came out into a big duty free shop, lots of cafes and a nice lounge - obviously this bit had been redone!! Soooo annoyed that I hadn't realized I could go through security as soon as I got my boarding pass :-( Didnt have time to dwell on it though (or look around!) as I had to board the plane. It was with Emirates, was a nice plane, simelar to the Cathay Pacific one. TVs in the seats horray!! Everyone seemed very pish and grumpy and rude to the air hostesses which annoyed me but I found my seat. right in the middle so not window or ailse. Inbetween an old man with his wife and an old women who seemed nice. Sat down and didnt really like take-off - never been keen on flying since my dizzy spells and this was the first time flying on my own, but thank god, no dizzyness at all :-) Anyway, take off was fine then I decided to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 - best choice I could have made because it finished just as the flight did! Paused it for food which was actually nice for a change! Had a chat with the old lady as we were getting off , she had been in the earthquake so we spoke about that. Then I got off the plane, went through customs etc and left. When I got to the meeting point there was meant to be someone there to meet me but there wasnt! My heart sank! I rang the number I was meant to and they said someone would be on there way. They came eventually, 2 really nice people, a guy called Brad and a girl called Matilda. I was the only person they were picking up and they were nice and chatty in the car. They dropped me to the hostle, probably wont see htme again now though. The hostle is definately the worst I have been in. The area isnt as bad as eevryone made out as its quite central but its very run down. Soo many stairs, 2 floors up to the kitchen/lounge etc (which arent very nice), 2 more to the bathrooms then two more to the dorms. Hope I dont need the toilet in the night! Got to my dorm, a 6 bed dorm which seems ok, then strted to put my stuff on an empty bed. As I was, a guy came in looking really grumpy and said it was his bed! I was very sorry and said i hadnt realized then some more people came in and laughed about it, thank god. In my dorm is a couple from England and the angry Sweedish guy and an English girl he has become friends with. As I got talking, everyone seems nice. Does feel like Mike should be here though as theres a spare bed and it kind of feels like I am with two couples. :-( Chatted for a while, the couple had een in the earthquake so they told us all about that, and found out they are all on the same starter pack as me. It had started that day so I had missed a day but all I had missed was a cheese and wine night - felt that everyone had got to know eachother though so tried hard to talk to them all. Hadn't met the others though but hoped they would be okay Had a shower which wasnt great but nice to have a wash, then got into bed and slept :-)