Wednesday, February 11: Warm and sunny
Swimming: 1200 m
Chinara’s (airbnb, $56)
Kayaker Intrepid has landed
The plane from Kuala Lumpur was very full, and I was seated in my old seat but had a Maori family sitting next to me who I struck up conversation with (a couple, their daughter and her boyfriend). I had the fish this time round (very spicy) and then took in one half of Walking in the Graveyard until I wasn’t following the story any more and slept a good three hours. My rowmates slept the whole way through to dinner, as did most other people. Passengers today included a variety of people wearing religious attire except for Jews, Hare Krishnas, and Bhagwanis.
I chose chicken satay for dinner, no mean feat getting the kebab sticks to fit inside the little box for the main meal component. Took in the rest of Walking, and a couple of episodes of Rizzola & Isles which they could also have called Ravioli & Guinness or Pizza & Praeties for blandness and singular dimensionality.
Over the Tasman night approached again as I filled out the arrivals form, and helped an obviously Buddhist monk and his daughter understand the questions about plant and animal material (he was apprehensive about his beads and other wooden objects he was carrying). I advised them to declare them & show the material that they had & they seemed quite satisfied.
After leaving half an hour late, we arrived correspondingly. It takes 25 minutes to get out of the plane & through passport control to the baggage carousel from touchdown, and from there another 15 minutes to the outside. Remembered to pick up my Bundy’s at the duty free shop, and had my bags x-rayed. Once outside there were only two problems left: Finding the i-site, as it was tucked away and quite inconspicuous, with signs pointing everywhere but, then called the hotel to pick me up, which they agreed to do in 20 minutes, and the second task was finding “Door 11” which was the pick-up point. Asked around a bit & sussed out that what was meant was the standard place for the shuttles to the other hotels, car rentals and so on. Could also have been better designated. In any case the van was full.
Was in my room at 1:50, showered and got into some clean stuff – a bit of a relief. Checkout time is at 10:00, strictly.
Was awake with the dawn and then it was no use trying to get back to sleep so I had the Twix bar from the plane with two double-shot coffees with all the milk for breakfast. Something had to be worthwhile.
The clerk described where I might get a bus or offered to take me back to the airport, but it was cheaper getting a more direct bus; only due to construction work the bus stops had been suspended. Withdrew some cash from an ATM and started asking around where the replacements stops might be. Two women who appeared to be having breakfast (but it was actually their dinner as they were just finishing shift) offered to take me to “town” (Mangere) where there was a central bus stop and after a while of waiting and exchanging with the local welcoming committee a bus came that the Indian woman I had been chatting to said was “our bus”. The fare to downtown was $6 (instead of $16 with the shuttle) but it took close to an hour. One older couple had started up a conversation with a German backpacker sitting on the other side of the bus (the guy spoke a little German) and forthwith gave all in earshot a little guided tour. I recognised the area around the Liggins Institute and pretty soon we were in downtown.
My instincts about where the northbound buses left from were fairly good, and sat down for a couple of minutes to await a bus. This time the fare was $4 since the fare structure had changed, and the bus wasn’t stopping opposite 235 Onewa Road due to construction, and I had to take it around the block to the Highbury shops. Once out I had no problem finding Chinara’s place. A little unpacking, and a glance at the shopping list to see what was possible to buy today already and what else was needed.
Took off down to the shops and looked through the Warehouse for sleeping bags/camping stuff/jandals, but nothing suitable, or in the right size. Had a crack at Countdown where I nailed a pair of jandals for $8 which I bought by going through the self-service rather than wait in a queue. The chemist next door (Unichem) had the cheapest deet but no Cancer Society sunscreen so I continued window shopping for a while, bought two of the tiniest pies I have ever seen and some dead horse (at Saint Honore’s – also 2013 – $2.7) for lunch back at Chinara’s.
Returned to complete the shopping. This time Countdown had CS 50+ sunscreen for $12 (also have a temporary one card from the first visit) and deet was $19 at the pharmacy. Checked the bus timetables for Saturday and they were OK, was still feeling a little hungry so I sought out Kelly’s Bakery for a sausage roll with dead horse ($1.8) then came back here to apply the sunscreen and start the diary.
Chinara had said that she would hide a key downstairs but it is in none of the obvious hiding places.
First impressions: The waning moon this morning both very early, and later on the trip to town. Monarch butterflies everywhere, and as long as I am occupied, jetlag is still a little distant.
Swimming was $6.7 and fairly empty at first, but with school over it started filling up. I managed 1200 m in 8′ 30″ per 200 m section. The pool is 33 m long, so twice my usual interval. Didn’t feel much from the cramp on the left, but on the last lap the right calf cramped. Still having problems stretching the left leg.
Chinara not having turned up by 6:30 I went to the shopping centre for dinner, this time Hong Kong Chinese Restaurant, pork fried rice (no pork for 72 hours, withdrawal symptoms) could only finish half of it, so packed the remains up for tomorrow. All for $12 including tea.
When I got back I. was there but could neither recognise me nor find his mum. However, Chinara was studying something for work and materialised a little later. Hugs followed and I gave her as much of an update as my brain becoming foggier would allow. Then it was on to the business of getting a key and the password for the network and I was going. Palmy seems to want to do March 6th, Michael had forgotten to send me the equipment, and I was able to announce my landing on facebook. That and a couple of beers and trips upstairs and I was away for the night.
Hitting the ground running.
