Saw our first sunrise in Sydney. Hailed a taxi and chatted to an impressive businessman. It turned out that he had sold 2 of his 5 taxis just before the Sydney Olympics for $40,000 more than the going rate and invested in property, an astute move. The family fortunes started with his grandfather who worked in the gold mines and developed a healthy skepticism of governments. "Don't tell them too much" was the advice given. His final piece of advice was to watch China as he believes this economy is the next to stumble with consequent knock-on effects for Australia, "stay in cash".
And all this before 06:30.
As we had plenty of time before the flight we used it productively writing postcards only for the plane to leave 30 minutes late.
The most memorable part of the flight was the chance to see the film, Red Dog, the iconic Australian film. No hints but highly recommended.
The usual Antipodean third degree on arrival in Christchurch but we managed to navigate the various checks without undue delay and were met by Mark and Julie with hugs all round.
The trip to the farm is one we have done before so it was interesting to note that the grass looked greener this time round and the road width was more UK scale rather than the extravagant multi-lanes we have become used to in Australia.
A detour allowed us to see some of the damage done by recent earthquakes including straight roads that now sport a chicane and a house that is too unstable to be used. Although we did not venture into the city we understand that very little reconstruction has started.
While Nicola chatted to Julie (an early appearance of wine), I went to Ashburton to pick up Mary from work and had my hair cut at the same time then following tea we headed for Rakia Squash Club to watch the pathetic attempts by Mark and Mary to overcome the local talent. It did give me a chance to meet a few of the neighbours including Fergus and Paddy (no prizes for guessing their home country).
Bed and a promise to get up for milking tomorrow at 04:30.