Auf Wiedersehen Neuseeland und Hallo wieder Australien

January 25th was the day we left New Zealand. The day before, we went to bed at 11, which is not too late. However, the alarm went off at 2:45 am, as we had to drive to the airport at 3:30 am. That was a bit too little sleep!

We were lucky and our host drove us to the airport for $25. So we didn't have to worry about transportation in the middle of the night. We arrived at the airport around 4:00 am and could check in soon. This time there was no plastic wrapping machine for our backpacks, and we had to give them away without protection. It would be fine. After that, we had a small breakfast at the airport. I had a croissant for the first time in months, and Andi had a coffee and a donut.

Boarding started at 5:30 am, and we took off at 6:15 am with a 15-minute delay. It was already getting light outside, and we could watch a beautiful sunrise from the airplane. A great last impression of New Zealand :)

The flight lasted 3.25 hours, and we even had a frittata for breakfast. I don't know why, according to our booking, we wouldn't have gotten any food. But never mind, we took it anyway. Shortly after takeoff, we saw something amazing: the Southern Alps from above, with their peaks illuminated by the first sunlight. Magical!

We landed at 7:45 am local time in Sydney, and we noticed that this was the first time we flew west again and gained time instead of losing it. At the airport, we picked up our intact backpacks and took the train to Cronulla. We arrived there at around 9:45 am and picked up our car. Everything was as we had left it (thank goodness!), and we briefly chatted with Sue and Steve because they had stored some things for us in their garage, like the gas bottles that we also had to pick up. At 11:00 am, we went to the mechanic, where we had made an appointment for our engine and coolant light. Since he wanted to keep the car and call us later, we walked to Solomons with our backpacks. Unfortunately, the mechanic was located in such a way that taking the train wouldn't have been worth it, so we ended up walking 3 km with our heavy backpacks through Gymea. We were really sweating because Sydney was actually much warmer than New Zealand, even though today was apparently the first cooler day. That was enough physical exertion for the day!

As soon as we arrived at the house, the mechanic called to let us know that we could pick up the car again. He had initially said that it would take until later in the afternoon. So the walk with the backpacks was completely pointless! But we didn't stress about it and had lunch and rested first. At 3:00 pm, we walked back and picked up the car. Diagnosis: The coolant light is caused by a faulty sensor that cannot be replaced individually, so the whole repair would cost several hundred dollars. The engine light is on because there is a part in or under the engine that needs to be replaced after 200,000 km, and now some hoses are decayed, allowing some air to enter the engine and causing it to consume more petrol than usual. The repair is very complex and would cost us $1,700. We had to swallow that. Of course, such a repair is not worth it for us, so in the end, we only paid the $115 labor cost of the mechanic and drove away a little wiser. The man also said that we should just keep driving the car as long as possible and see what happens. That's what we're going to do, because it has been working fine so far, and we have already driven several thousand kilometers since the engine light came on. We won't invest in any other necessary repairs anymore!

After the mechanic, we went to the doctor again because my eye(s) still weren't really better. This time I had a funny young doctor who even gave us tips for the South Coast. Unfortunately, he couldn't give any more definitive diagnosis than the previous doctors. Only that it's probably more of an allergy than a bacterial or viral infection. So if the new drops he prescribed don't help, I should try an antihistamine. He also took a swab from my eye to have it tested in the lab for bacteria. So we'll see!

At 5:30 pm, we went shopping because we wanted to cook schnitzel for the family in the evening. Everyone except Cameron, who still has school holidays, works during the week, and we wanted to relieve them a bit in their daily lives as a thank you for the accommodation. When we came home, Sol, Hilkka, and Alana were already there, and we had to tell them about our experiences in New Zealand. There was a lot to report! Around 7:00 pm, we made our beef and chicken schnitzel with potato wedges and salad. We also prepared gluten and lactose-free schnitzel for Alana. Everyone enjoyed it and was happy about the delicious dinner. We were happy that everyone liked it.

We finally went to bed around 10:30 pm, and by then, we were really exhausted. We had been awake for nearly 20 hours, traveled from one country to another, and accomplished a lot. I think it's okay to be tired then :D