A 4am start in Hav Nth to get the bags/bike all checked in by 5:15. First glitch was encountered as the bike box had to be under 32kg and was 36kg. STRESS! Upshot – I had to rebook on a later flight to give us (Mark, Seamus and myself) time to unpack the bike and remove the rear wheel. This was then repacked in one of the other bags and all was well. The AirNZ staff were very accomodating and ensured that what seemed like a major calamity at the time turned into just another bump in the journey. I will need to spend another night in Melbourne as now I won’t have time to build the bike and stock up on food before 10am tomorrow. With luck the cloudy cold airmass sitting there at the moment will have started to move East as I head West to sunnier climes with the delayed departure 🙂

It was great to have the family support to see me off. I found myself emotional for no good reason…

The flight to Akl was uneventful but a bit of introspection found me orientating myself – Tutira, Rotorua, The mount, Hunua’s and more. No such luxury to come as I rely on electronic navigation to guide me NW.