Flying to Christchurch, NZ

April 3 9:55am

Well I finally made it to Christchurch, New Zealand. I left Brisbane at 6:30pm and had a nice flight until we began our descent and the captain came on the radio and said there was heavy fog in Christchurch but he was going to try and land but there was a good chance we would have to divert to Auckland to refuel. Well we were coming in for the landing and things looked pretty clear so I had high hopes he would make the landing and things would be fine. However, just as it appears we’re about to hit the runway, the engines roar to life again and next thing you know we are climbing back into the sky. We are then informed the fog is too thick and we are going to Auckland, which is on the North Island and another hours flight. So we land in Auckland and we’re still not entirely sure what is going on...are we going through customs, do we get our bags, etc... Airline officials take us to this open space and tell us to wait for further news. We are then told that we are going to be here indefinitely and we will need to go back through security to get back into the terminal. This is like 2:00am local time. Security lines don’t open until 3:00am... So we sat for an hour, and then an hour and a half. It was nearly two hours before we even got through security. Then they tell us our flight won’t start boarding back to Christchurch until 5:20. Then the replacement crew was late showing up. Once we finally took off, it was past 6:45 and we still had an hour flight ahead of us. We finally landed in Christchurch, got through customs (I got another stamp in my passport J), and found a shuttle into the city. I had a room booked at the Hotel So for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday until we picked up the RV on Monday. Since I missed last night, the manager upgraded me from a standard single to a premium double room so I have a bigger bed and a room with a window. I am now getting ready to get out and explore the city. While getting here was a battle, at least I made it safely and we didn’t crash in the fog. It was so awesome flying into Christchurch this morning. There were mountains and fields and lakes and rivers and just stuff as far as the eye could see. Hopefully some pictures will find their way on here a little later but for now, its exploration time.