Woke at 3AM for a five and a half hour drive to Christchurch Airport clear across the other side of the South Island for a 1PM flight. Amanda is now sick, very sick. We're grateful for the doctor giving us two sets of antibiotics for an nuisssance such as this. Packed and out the door by 5AM. We're getting very good at packing. Each time we pack we find we have more room in our bags - room that was certainly not there when we left the states. Or we're accidently leaving stuff behind everywhere we go - either way! The rain has continued into today.
An hour and half before we saw the first signs of life - another car. Nearly three hours before we found an open gas station, an open anything. Someone must have been watching out for us because the young man working the shop mentioned that Arther Pass was closed to all cars without chains due to heavy snowfall and may be closed to all soon if the snow keeps coming down the way it is. Neither of us can remember mentioning to this young man where we were headed but how did he know? Or was it just a coincidence that he mentioned it? That's some guardian angel type stuff! And, yes, we needed to cross Arther Pass to get to Christchurch. Lucky for us, Christchurch, like other places in NZ, was not one of the places with only one way in and one way out. Unlucky for us, the other pass, Lewis Pass, was at least an hour and a half (150+ kilometers) out of the way. Uh oh. Obviously, we opted for Lewis Pass even though it was likely we wouldn't make our flight and started planning for as much. So, we white knuckled our way across NZ, in and out of rain and snow depending on the altitude, and made it to Hertz at Christchurch by 11:35 - go Amanda!
Hustled our way into the airport only to find out that our flight had been ...... CANCELED. Apparently, the plane was still at Nadi Airport in Fiji because it needed repair and the crew member who can complete this repair is sick. Yes, sick. And yes, we asked the same question - there is only ONE person who can fix this problem? We were given an 0800 number but all they said is 'call back at 2pm for an update'. A while later an announcement was made about the Air Pacific once a week flight to Fiji. Flight was rescheduled for 7:30PM that night and we were given vouchers for food -we've grown to resent vouchers (as if $24 in food at an airport will compensate for half a day lost in Fiji) but we took them and at least got ourselves food for the looooong wait. Once beyond security, Amanda fell asleep (anyone surprised?) and Rick ventured around. Plane did not make its appearance until 7:30PM so, needless to say, we weren't boarded until 8PM. Once on the plane, the captain made an announcement that started with 'It's just been one of those days...' - uuuugh - and proceeded to explain to us that during the preflight inspection, the handle on a fire extinguisher had broken and we had to wait until a replacement arrived before we could take off. It was after 9PM before we were airborn and just before 1AM when we landed in Nadi.
After our conversations with our new friends who had just been to the Warwick at Fiji, we had made the decision to rent a car as it seemed everything we were going to want to do required driving. We proceded to AVIS, which much to our surprise was still open, for our car. It wasn't until after inspecting and packing the car that we noticed that the passenger's seat belt in the first car was broken so they had to switch out the vehicle. They did not have any compact size cars left so they had to upgrade the vehicle but unlike in the states, they do not do this for free. They are planning to drive out to the Warwick to switch it as soon as a compact becomes available - easily an hour and half drive - but as long as they aren't making us drive back (or pay more) then fine. Drove to Warwick. Easy drive - only one road around the entire island. You literally cannot get lost - you can just take the long way. Can't wait to see this place with the lights on! In the dark, it isn't more than a poorly maintained road, a ton of potholes, and a lot of stray animals (dogs, cats, cows, horses, etc.) Arrived at Warwick just before 4AM but the oceanview room we paid for was not yet available (can this day just end?!?!) so they were going to have to switch us in the morning. Did not unpack more than just our toothbrushes. After our 23 hour travel day we had hoped for a refreshing face wash but the hot water had stopped working (of course) so made it quick and into jammies. Given the length of our travel and the breeze it has been so far, we were due for a day such as this. So we'll take it and wave it goodbye as we fall asleep. :)
Myth Confirmed: Amanda can fall asleep anywhere!
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