Goodbye, New Zealand and Hello, Australia!

Good bye beautiful New Zealand! We thoroughly enjoyed our 12 days in your beautiful land!

Caitlyn and I woke up at 4am Tuesday morning in Christchurch to drive to the airport. We stayed just outside the main earthquake destruction zone and it was heart-wrenching to see the devastation. We dropped our rental car off and said good bye - she headed to the domestic terminal to catch a flight to Auckland (and then home to WA state) and I went to the international terminal to fly to Sydney.

The check in line was super long for my Sydney flight but they got us all checked in on time. I made it to Sydney without any complications. I'm staying with a friend and her husband here and we're having a great time. I get to check out the botanical gardens today.

My best friend from college, Gloria, flies in tomorrow morning and we'll have a week together here. We are staying at a hostel in the heart of Sydney for a few days. We don't have much of an agenda, we just want to take in the sights and experience the culture here. I brought a handy book with me called "Sydney: Free and Dirt Cheap" so that should help us with the budget. I've been told Sydney is a very expensive city.

I continue to have a great time, although I do miss my love. I'll be ready to see him when I go home next Saturday.