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12/13/10

This was my last morning in Rotorua so I checked out at 10 am ant then used my remaining internet time and waited until closer to 11 am when I had to catch the bus to the airport. I was very comfortable in this city which had a lot to do with the friendly staff of Ivan and Karina at the hostel. I was excited to be headed down to the south island and looking forward to seeing my friends in a few days. I caught the bus and made it to the airport in like 15 minutes. I checked my back and this is a very small airport and I do not believe they have many flights that go out but I was happy to be on one. When I checked my bag which once again was 23kg which is the maximum allowed the airline lady informed me that I needed to pay a levy (tax) to leave the airport. I was stunned somehow the city decided that they were going to charge everyone who departed from this airport a $5 fee. The airline will not let you board the plane until they confirm that you paid this fee. I was killing time in the airport when I saw a statue of a lady pilot in the waiting area. I forget her name maybe it was Jean or something but it was around the same time as Amelia Erhart was becoming famous that this lady was also becoming famous flying. She was born in Rotorua and she had achieved some brilliant solo flights I believe she held the record from London to Australia at one time in like 14 hours. I read all about her interesting history. The flight was fine nothing much worth mentioning besides the fact that I was able to see my back being loaded on the plane... that is when you know you are at a small airport you can watch the luggage being loaded and spot your bag with ease. I arrived in Christchurch airport and at the airport I was able to book the hostel for 2 nights near the large park near the center of the city. I caught the bus to go check in. For some reason the YHA hostel I was staying at ran with weird hours. The reception was open from 8am to 10am and 5 to 7 pm. It was some type of split shift and I was glad to arrive at 3:30 pm when it opened up. I was happy enough with the place and I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the town and checking out parts of the park. I also went for a nice long walk to the grocery store to buy myself some food. I arrived at the store at 10 minutes to 9 pm and the store was closing at 9 pm. When it comes to food I am not a very fast shopper and so figuring out some meals for the next few days in that short of a time was a bit of a challenge.