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We left Adelaide at 8.30pm on Wednesday the 9th of February on the first leg to fly back to Dunedin for Chris's 21st Birthday party. There are direct flights from Adelaide to Auckland & Christchurch but they are not user friendly, either time or cost wise. We had booked into the Cilloons Motor Lodge in Melbourne that picked us up and dropped us back to the Airport to catch our flight. We were back at the Airport just after 7am and after getting our seat numbers, we went through the departure gate and had some breakfast whilst waiting on our Freedom Flight to board. The flight across had a few bumpy bits but arrived early. Dunedin Airport is going thru a rebuild and at the moment is fairly rough. The arrivals area is in temporary accommodation (I hope) and is chipboard lined. Paul & Ian Joy arrived to pick us up and we headed in to Ian's place via Paul's & Michie's new flat in Forbury Road. After a quick visit to Ian's where we caught up with Betty & Ian Hudson from Greymouth, we headed out to Mum & Dad Roberts's at Fairfield for a quick catch up. From there we headed around to Ian & Kath Rutherford's, for where we were staying, had a bite of tea and were visited by Gordon & Elly and Lester & Sue. Friday was spent shopping for bits & pieces for the party, spending time with Paul, Michie & Al then a quick visit with Linda and Alec Ross who are shifting to Adelaide. While Vick went to a hairdressers appointment I spent time at the Bank to close down an account. We then had a quick bite of tea and while Rudds and I headed to the Bowling Club to make sure the Speights was up to scratch and Dave Watts and Crew were behaving , Vick & Kath entertained at Kennedy Road. Saturday dawned wet (It rained for 4 of the 5 days we were back). We shot out to Mosgiel to get sandwiches and savories for the party and a quick visit to Norm who used to live next to us in Koremata St. Back into town, picked up more food at Copeland's then down to the Southern Football Club to drop off the food and blow up some balloons. After getting our photo box from Mum & Dad's we made up a photo board mounted on the back of some Lions Club signs that showed Chris over the past two decades. Ian Rudds and I had to go and get a lotto ticket (aka quick jug at the Club), a bite of tea then back into Southern via Merv Tikey's 50th Birthday Party in Green Island. We arrived at the Rugby Club just after 8pm. Family and Friends arrived over the next few hours and some people drank more than others. After speeches and Chris downing the Yard we had supper. Chris remembers very little of the later part of the night, thanks to the spirit carousel that he got as a present and gave a test drive prior to the party. We poured him into a van and sent him home around midnight after he lost most of what he had eaten and drank during Saturday. By the time the Bar closed at 1am it was only the 'olds' that were left. Back to Kennedy Road and bed. Cleaning up the Rugby Club was the first job on Sunday morning. After we dropped off the food trays to the Bakery in Mosgiel and a had cuppa with Jan & Dave Hodges, we spent the rest of the day at Ian & Kath's. The Kids and Gordon & Elly came out for a late lunch and Chris finally cut his cake. We had tea in at Alan & Carolyn's with their family and Mum & Dad R. Our Boys had headed home to recuperate. On Monday we visited Barbara at our house in Koremata St, had a cuppa with her and a chat with Laurie Lloyd. While Vicki had lunch in two shifts with her old workmates at the Uni SIS, I spend some time at Rogan McIndoes. After having afternoon tea with Ian Joy we returned to Ian & Kath's for tea via Chris's flat and a quick visit with our old cat Bandit. After tea and a few drinks, Paul & Chris, with Michie & Jade came out to say their goodbyes and Lester turned up with some photos and had a nightcap with us. Tuesday was a long day. After saying goodbyes to Ian & Kath before they headed off to work, we packed our bags and got taken to the Airport by Mum & Dad. The plane was late leaving Dunedin for Wellington. All three flights that day were late. We had two hours to fill in at the Wellington Airport so we got a few souvenirs before boarding the Air NZ Airbus A320 flight to Melbourne. The trip up from Dunedin and after we flew out of Wellington allowed us to get some great photos from the plane as you can see below. The further we got across the Tasman the more the cloud cover increased. We only got a few brief glimpses of land before we landed at Melbourne. Tea in Melbourne was at Hungry Jacks (Burger King) and another wait before flying on to Adelaide. The clouds opened as we flew across the City to land at just after 9pm local time. We were picked up at the Airport by Jane (from my work) who had Bailey with her, and driven home. We had another cup of coffee and, without worrying about unpacking, hit the sack. It was great to catch up with everyone while we were over as well as fairly hectic and tiring. We know of a number of our friends and family who are planning to visit us over the next 6 months and we are looking forward to showing off the City we now call home.
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