I had to get up ridiculously early this morning to get to the airport. My flight was at 6.15am which meant I had to check in at 5.00am, so I got up at 3.30am and got myself together in time for my cab at 4.30am. Jet got up to say goodbye and to carry my bag down the stairs – I was perfectly happy to drag it down the steps myself but it would probably have woken up all his neighbours!
Once at the airport I checked in successfully and was pleased to see my bag’s weight was only 21kg and even more pleased that they didn’t charge me for that extra kilo! Through my slight bleary-eyedness, I realised that I was actually really excited about the prospect of leaving NZ – I felt like I had spent enough time there and was definitely ready to leave, it felt like I was going to where I was supposed to be. This fact helped me to get over the shock when I found out that I had to pay to leave the country, so I joined the stupidly long queue and paid the $25 to get home.
After going through security, I had time to have a quick look around the three shops, buy some duty free rum and grab a gdrink, then they called my flight and began boarding the plane. I think everyone was as keen as I was to leave NZ because it seemed to take no time at all for everyone to board and before long we were well on our way. Despite not being particularly comfortable, within moments of take-off I was asleep and made the most of the chance to catch some more shut-eye before arriving back in Oz. I woke up for the last hour of the flight and had a coffee when the trolley came around.
On arriving in Melbourne I had an overwhelming sense of relief and was surprised at how quickly I made it through passport control, baggage reclaim and customs. As I stepped out of the airport and saw the sun, I felt ‘right’ once more. I sent Tom a text to say I had arrived and joined the very long queue for the Skybus, but my good mood at being back was enough to make the long wait pass relatively quickly. Once on the bus, the lady sitting next to me asked me some questions about Melbourne and I felt really pleased that I was able to answer them! The two guys behind us must have overheard and then also asked some questions, which again I was able to answer. Hmmmmm – maybe I have missed my calling and tourism is what I should be doing (as long as it also involves a vehicle that goes ‘tschhhhh’!)!
As we drew closer to the city, I began getting even more excited as I could see the skyline ahead of us (with skyscrapers – whoop whoop!). When I got off the bus Tom was there waiting for me – it was really good to see a friendly face! We headed to the train station and more or less straight away got on the train to Ascotvale, where I would be staying with him, Sarah and Becs. The train ride was quick enough and it gave Tom and I a chance to chat, specifically giving Tom a chance to bag NZ – one of his favourite things to do!
When we got back to the house, Sarah and Becs had just got up and were sitting outside in the garden. It was sunny although it was a little bit chilly, but the excitement of being back in Oz made me forget about that – the long sleeved tops I bought yesterday did come in handy though! It was great to see the girls and we sat outside drinking tea for a couple of hours chatting about what we’d been up to the last few weeks.
We came inside and sat in the lounge, watching tv – they showed me the spoof Aussie show called ‘All Aussie Adventures’ featuring a guy called ‘Russell Coight’, who is a cross between Ray Mears and Steve Irwin. They tried to pull it off as a serious show, but I spotted the spoofness before the show’s introductory credits had finished rolling! It was really funny and we had a good giggle at it. It was then time to take a trip to Coles (the ‘supo’!) where we went around and picked up some groceries, then went to the bottle shop and bought a slab of beer – really funny beers in bottles shaped like little Buddhas! Back at the house we cracked open the beers and celebrated my not being stuck in NZ any longer!
Becs cooked dinner and it was great – she made burgers from scratch, which was fascinating to watch and even though I was really worried that I would not be able to eat them (seeing as I don’t eat burgers!), when she dished them up, they were absolutely amazing! This is not to say I rushed straight out to Maccas and ate a burger, but I think I might have to try making my own burgers at some point. Whilst we ate, we watched tv and chatted, then we put on a DVD – Hot Fuzz (collectively one of our favourite films!) and chilled out with a beer watching that. I think all the dashing about caught up with me and it was then that I felt absolutely shattered, so went to bed and crashed out, feeling so happy and grateful to be in a house with some really great people in such a great city.
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