Here we go again, the 2008 trip!

Well here we are again, can you believe it was a year ago since we were here last! Where does the time go? Arrived ok into Nelson, all flights linked up fine and other than a 30 minute delay getting out of Heathrow no problems. Transitting through Hong Kong was fine, seemed a bit pointless to me though. All they did was offload us, put us through departures and sit at the gate for an hour before getting back on the plane. I guess it gave them time to refuel, tidy up and restock with food again.
We managed to get the seats we wanted, near the back with just the two of us side by side so no-one to bother us. It was a newish plane so the latest on-demand entertainment and the new slimline seats which give more legroom. My only complaint were that the seats were a little hard, I guess they need softening up a bit or I need to put some weight on! We both managed to get a bit of sleep on both the long legs of the journey, although I probably got an hour or so more than Deb. I have a routine I get into that works for me on these longer flights. Have a couple of glasses of red wine, some dinner and a movie by which time the food and wine has kicked in and my eyes close!
Not much to see on the long legs of the flights, even coming into land in HK was dull as their was mist hanging over the city which blanked out most of the lights. However, the hop down from Auckland to Nelson was great, nice clear sunny skies so we were able to see the whole of the western coastline before swinging across to come into Nelson. Landed early afternoon with the temperature in the mid 20's with a light breeze and bright sunshine. Certainly made a change from the cold UK weather we left behind.
Settled into the motel ok, it's a little basic, but clean, spacious and ideally located beside the river and just one block from the city center. No internet access so I'll have to use one of the internet cafes in town. Found the supermarket just 200m down the road so stocked up on the essentials and had a quick snack before stretching the legs round town to try and stay awake before hitting the sack in the evening. The bed was very welcome that night...