The End of our 18 Day Tour

We are high overhead at 30,000+ feet on our way from Auckland, NZ to Brisbane, Australia. This is flight # 14 for the Miles and # 12 for the Beehlers. We have navigated more airport security lines than we want to remember and and enjoyed speedy, uneventful check-in  at most sites. We have waltzed through more Duty-Free Shops than you can imagine. In Sydney it looked like an entire mall. For the most part, we have whizzed through a zillion check points,  learned where all the toilets are, and how to flush with a myriad of buttons, levers and handles.  Lydia has learned to look innocent when she sets off the metal detector. She has been strip searched so many times she lost count. She has been a trooper with her new best friend, the leg brace. As cumbersome as it may seem, having the brace has allowed her to be much more mobile, navigating with less pain. We have learned to dump the water, take off nearly all our clothes it seems, and fill out endless emigration and immigration forms.  We have learned that the Aussies, as well as the Kiwis, DO NOT want you to bring in any fruit what so ever, so we have pitched perfectly good apples and dried prunes, just to name a few items.  We have gobbled box breakfasts to save them from the rubbish bins, too. We have purchased and tried to consume some of the nastiest coffee ever brewed. ( that is the problem, they don't brew it.) We have given up on ever finding a decent burger as they tend to add strange things to their burger patties. ( The natives tell us they wouldn't have their burgers any other way.)

We have seen some of the most fabulous sites in the world, and  have come to appreciate our precious planet even  more. Water is very dear here in the southern hemisphere as are many other resources. People everywhere in Australia and New Zealand have been most gracious, and we have met travelers from around the world. (some more gracious than others)

We will never understand Aussie Footie, nor Kiwi Rugby much less cricket, so we have actually quit trying.  They are all sports fanatics beyond belief.

We are now headed back to home base with the Beehlers in Brisbane.  It will be great not to have to get up at 4:00 AM to make a flight, skip breakfast, and run through one more airport ( at least for another week.)  It will be great to share the Grandies with Grandma and Grandpa Beehler and spend a little more time in Brisbane.