Apartment view

Before landing there were a bit of paperwork to fill out, and after checking with the cabin crew it seemed to be excessively careful so “food” was filled out for candy that had never been unboxed etc. We quickly found all our luggage and now was to go through the customs with our paperwork. We presented our papers and luggage and they explained that it was fine with the candy, Mona had a moisturizer that got caught in the x-ray but it was still permitted so all in all we were let in and everyone were happy.

After us was a family from a culture where one often responds with “yes yes” to questions even if one doesn’t know or understand. Combine that with your helpful wife packing a dozen clementines in your backpack and you have a failsafe way to get a hefty fine of 400 NZD and strong wording.

With all paperwork sorted out we only had 5 hours to kill before we would have access to the AirBnb apartment in central Christchurch we booked the day before, and not having slept more than half an hour on the plan the original plan of strolling the cafes and shops seemed less pleasant. We bought two prepaid sim-cards with decent dataplans (only name and e-mail wanted – no registration with id here) and then secured a space to doze off until lunch at the airport. The ladies got some sleep and then we had a shuttle into Christchurch.

World War I memorial repaired and strengthened after the Earthquake in 2011

At the apartment we rested a bit and then took a stroll in the earthquake struck city while Mona continued sleeping. We got some food at a supermarket and went home to make a quick late dinner. My father, per tradition, configured Tintin and friends and after a family dinner with some beers we felt at home.

A few hours of reading and writing blogs before hitting the beds – Mona and I felt lucky we weren’t scheduled for an early taxi at 07 as my parents who were going to the Tranzalpine.