These next few posts have been a while in coming, but I decided to let my brother complete his recollections of our trip to southern New Zealand before I commenced my own. I was actually quite surprised at the number of surprisingly similar photos we took. Although we did not spend the whole time together, it seems we did end up going to many of the same places, just at different times. I highly encourage you to visit his posts on our trip at: http://bloggingmiddleearth.blogspot.com/
I left Canberra on a bus bound for Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) International Airport on the morning of October 3rd. My flight was in the evening and it meant that I would arrive in Christchurch sometime around 22:15 local time. The bus trip was uneventful as was the wait for my flight, but that took longer than expected. My flight was delayed and it was nearly an hour behind schedule by the time we got off the ground. It was unfortunate that the flight was at night as it would mean that I would not see the great Southern Alps as I reached the South Island. It also turns out that New Zealand had just started daylight savings, one week before Australia, so it was 3 hours ahead of Sydney time, rather than the usual 2.
I arrived in New Zealand at around 23:00 local time and since I had no checked luggage, I went right to customs, thinking that I could make a speedy exit. Ironically, I was selected for a random search which meant a further delay; I think it's because I'm white. After a 15-20 minute inspection, the customs officer was finally satisfied that I wasn't carrying anything illegal and I was allowed to proceed. I caught a cab and finally arrived at my brother's residence around 00:00. My brother met me at the village office and led me to his apartment. I was happy to finally arrive at a place where I could rest up before the next day's adventures. I also met some of my brother's flatmates who were very friendly, in the best traditions of the New Zealand people.
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