Bye Bye New Zealand, Hello Sydney, Australia

I have finally arrived in Sydney, Australia after a hellish day of flying that left me 5 hours late. In what was supposed to be a nice easy flight from Christchurch- Sydney that was supposed to get me in Sydney at 5:15, it was just one thing after another. First, the plane had to be rerouted to Auckland so we could change planes and they could check the equipment on the first plane. Isn't that a comforting feeling? "We can't take you to Sydney because we need to check the plane, but we will just fly you to Auckland" This ordeal was supposed to get us into Sydney at 7:45. Upon arrival into Sydney, there were horrible lightning storms which left us sitting on the tarmac for 1 1/2 hours. UGH. Anyways, when I finally got in, I was greeted by my cousin Debbie. It was awesome to see her after so many years. She is incredibly beautiful. Probably makes a lot of you wonder if she is really my cousin. After leaving the airport, we headed back to her place, drank some very nice NZ pinot noir and just talked and caught up. We also had nice some nice cheese and crackers. A good point was brought up. One that I never have thought of and wish it still hadn't been brought to my attention. Why is cheese in the States orange? And what stage of making cheese would it become orange? Much bigger day on the agenda today. Barbecues (Shrimp on the Barbie!!!) , soccer matches, and whatever else the night brings. Although I was informed that Aussies won't actually say "Shrimp." They are prawns. It is absolutely gorgeous weather wise. Plus, it stays light until 9:30.

I was truly sad to leave NZ as it is an absolutely amazing place, but excited to be in Australia and see my cousin Debbie and all that it offers. New Zealand has catapulted right to the top of the list of places I have been. The new top 3 would probably be 1) NZ 2) Brazil 3) Greek Islands. It has really been a whirlwind and I don't think it has set in yet. The last things I did were hang gliding and one final hoorah in Queenstown. The hang gliding was absolutely awesome fun. Flying down from 2500 feet and covering 5KM with cool air blowing in your face was sensational. And the last night in Queenstown was a night in Queenstown.

Between spending time with Uncle Jerry, the TranzAlpine, Glaciers, awesome nights in Queenstown, bungy jumping, jet boating, Te Anau, kayaking, hiking,hang gliding, the wonderful kiwi people, and the amazing scenery. Let's just say it was far from disappointing.

Later for now. Pictures coming soon.

PS

Best of luck to Julie Thomason on her LSAT test.

Best of luck to UGA

Best of luck to Texas