An early start, back in to the cyber cafe hauling our luggage with us and grabbing some drinks on the way. In suit with the trouble we had yesterday I had to immediately move machines in order to download an html file from ftp but after that it was all plain sailing. In 2.5 hours I had updated my webpages to 29 December 2002 which was further than I expected to get. Then I had to rush to the opticians to collect my contact lenses which I nearly forgot about since I had ordered and paid for them in Hamilton. Finally managing to post my congratulations card to my friends in England I returned to the cyber cafe and was sent back out to get coffee for Ian, which he then proceeded to spill down his front...
We finished up at noon and grabbed a taxi to the airport arriving at 12:20. A quick check in followed and we duty-freed for our hosts in Sydney before sitting down for some lunch and journal writing.
Our aeroplane was late departing, why we don't know, and left at 16:10 local time. The flight was 2 hours 54 minutes which was shorter than anticipated and we cruised at an altitude of 40,000 feet. I had a small child fidgeting behind me throughout the flight kicking my chair which I did my best to ignore and reclined my seat only slightly when I had checked that the tyrant wasn't likely to get squished in the process. Well, it wouldn't be right if I didn't have someone pestering me from behind on a flight would it? I couldn't see the screen for the way the seats were arranged either so I listened to the inflight music which was on a ten track loop. Our descent was very stepped which wasn't remotely pleasant and reminded me of the initial descent into Auckland back in November 2002 which made me lose my stomach too. Surely these pilots can do better than that?
We declared everything at customs and consequently quarantine so we weren't risking an instant fine, even our mint imperials and crunchie bar! [Editors Note: it came to light later that I had in fact illegally imported a packet of peanuts.] Passport control was a doddle and we were receivers of arrived stamps. I have to make my way to an immigration office as soon as possible to obtain evidence of my working rights as a working holiday maker temporary resident, the visa for which was granted at the end of September 2002. Ian's visa is much more vague. He has an ETA tourist visa for six months but there's no evidence of it anywhere so far as we could tell.
Mark was waiting for us as we exited quarantine and we were driven to Bronte where he lives, near Bronte beach. En route we were given a brief introduction to Sydney and general directions, points of interest and a little history. It was 18:30 when we arrived at his flat and we walked down to the beach to feast on excellent fish and chips watching the big waves crash ashore, drinking sparkling red wine, hmmm, and meeting some of Mark and Cronan's ex-patriate friends. When the sun set and the temperature cooled we returned to Mark and Cronan's flat for more wine and chat and vanilla vodka cokes. Mark inundated Ian and I with useful information about Australia and we gazed at the map of Australia, stunned by its great size and I skim read some Lonely Planet guides. It was fantastic to be in company and relax for the evening without having to arrange accommodation and get up early the next day. The pressure was off if only for one night. I sought advice from Mark about spiders...