Saturday was another warm, sunny day in Russell. However unfortunately we had to leave because it was the last day of our holiday. I would very much like to return to visit the Bay of Islands and definitely stay at The Gables again, it is such an amazing apartment in a perfect location.
The journey to Auckland was pleasant and of course included one last brunch, but we were very sad saying goodbye to Jamie at the airport.
I have never been in such an empty plane as on the first leg of our journey, from Auckland to Melbourne. It was fantastic. It must have been only about a fifth full and as a result it felt very spacious and somehow more relaxing. The same could not be said about our next flight from Melbourne to Dubai, which was almost full. James and I had adopted the strategy of booking a window and an aisle seat in the hope that nobody would book the middle seat between us. However as the flight filled up I became convinced that someone would turn up to claim the seat. I watched the last few stragglers like a hawk as they came onto the plane and approached our row - but we were so lucky! The seat remained free which meant that we could stretch out a bit. Happy days.
We made full use of the in-flight entertainment and both watched several films. I watched a couple of wee quirky art house films and then decided to watch Moana, the Disney cartoon film set in the Polynesian Islands. I thoroughly enjoyed it and the meeting houses, dancing, spiral and fish hook jewellery, scenery and even the men's tattoos were very reminiscent of those of New Zealand - after all the Maori people originally came from the South Pacific Islands.
The final leg of our journey was from Dubai to Glasgow; our total journey time was 30 hours including the four hours of stops in Melbourne and Dubai - so 26 hours of flying. We arrived home at lunch time on Sunday to be welcomed by Davie and Tom.