PALMERSTON NORTH—Was up at 6:00am for some last minute packing and house-keeping—like emptying the dishwasher and spraying the motion sensors with fly-spray. I was picked up by the Mum & Dad taxi service shortly before 11:00am for the trip to the airport.The flight to Auckland was uneventful and we touched down five minutes early. I found Gavin and Isla waiting for me and we decided to fill the long wait by taking a bus to the Manukau Shopping Centre. The original idea was to see a movie but we ended up wandering the mall instead before getting the bus back to the airport. We walked to the international terminal and found something to eat for tea before going through security.

While waiting at the gate, Isla and I had our names called out to go to the gate desk. We were told that we had been randomly selected for further security screening—as requested by the TSA. Gavin was left wondering what was going on as we were led away to have our hand luggage, clothes and hands swabbed and tested for suspicious substances. The tests all came back clear and we were told we could expect extra attention at the other end.

The flight left on time about 11:00pm. After a very late-night/early morning meal I tried to get some sleep—not very successfully. I did see about three-quarters of Storks, so I must have dozed off for a period somewhere in the middle. Landed about 3:00pm local time and we made our way slowly through customs. The only problem I had was that I had taken the ESTA application form too literally (and this may have been why I had been randomly selected for extra screening). Where it asked for my ‘First (Given) Name’—note the singular—I didn’t include my middle name. Duh! Thankfully I had fortuitously printed out the confirmation as the ESTA system was down at the time.

We found the bus pick-up point and waited about an hour for the Disneyland Resort Express to arrive. One and a half hours later we were dropped off at the Best Western Plus, except it was the wrong one. It was the one Gavin had thought he had booked, as it was next to the hotel where Alexe and Esmé were staying, but it wasn’t the one he had actually booked. That one was three quarters of a mile away. Got a taxi there and settled in before walking back to see Alexe and Esmé. A short time later we all we all headed to Disney Downtown for some orientation and a look around.

Finally got to bed around 11:00pm—a day some 37 hours long.