Well, we made it!
The very long journey from Timaru to the Isle of Man is finally over. I've now had two good sleeps and am feeling recovered, functioning on Manx time once more.
We left Timaru on Saturday lunchtime and drove to Christchurch Airport. From there it was a flight to Sydney on an almost empty plane, followed by a very full 14-hour flight to Dubai.
By the time we landed in Dubai, all thoughts revolved around one thing: sleep.
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We had a 20-hour layover in Dubai and had booked a hotel room, hoping to catch up on some much-needed rest. Unfortunately, sleep proved elusive. Between the excitement of travelling, unfamiliar surroundings, and body clocks that had absolutely no idea what time it was, we managed little more than an hour or so at the start, followed by another couple of hours later in the day.
Fortunately, we had packed toothbrushes, travel-sized essentials, and a change of clothing in our carry-on bags. That turned out to be a wise decision, as our main luggage wasn't available during the stopover.
Dubai itself was hot. Very hot.
The temperature was around 35°C, but with the humidity it felt closer to 44°C. A short 7–8 minute walk was enough to convince me that air conditioning was one of humanity's greatest inventions. We were more than happy to step into the cool comfort of the Metro station.
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One of the cabin crew had suggested a trip to Dubai Mall, so we decided to take the Metro and have a look around.
The train ride itself was fascinating. I attempted to take photos through the windows, but the decorative patterns on the glass had other ideas. The pictures didn't work out, but the views certainly did. Dubai's skyline is something else entirely.
After another walk—this time through covered, air-conditioned walkways—we arrived at the mall. We could have used the moving walkways, but chose the old-fashioned method instead and stretched our legs.
The mall is enormous. I don't think we saw even a quarter of it.
I had heard there was an aquarium, though, and that was high on my list.
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As luck would have it, The Cheesecake Factory sits right beside one of the huge aquarium viewing panels, which is open to the public.
While eating my burger, I found myself watching sharks, rays, and countless smaller fish glide past. It was certainly one of the more memorable lunch views I've ever had.
There was something oddly relaxing about sitting there, tired from travelling, watching the fish go about their day while the world bustled around the mall outside.
We spent a few hours wandering, window shopping, and taking in the sights before eventually heading back to the hotel.
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The shorter flight from Dubai to Manchester passed in a blur of snoozes and David Attenborough documentaries. Anyone who knows me won't be surprised by that. I could happily listen to David Attenborough talking about almost anything.
When we arrived in Manchester, we managed to get onto an earlier flight to the Isle of Man, which turned out to be a very good thing indeed.
The weather over the island was dreadful. Thick, thick fog.
As it happened, our flight was one of the very few to make it in at all, and the last plane to land that day. The pilot found a gap in the fog and somehow got us safely onto the ground. I was very happy to see Ronaldsway Airport appear out of the murk on Monday lunchtime. That's Monday midnight NZ time.
Unfortunately, our arrival wasn't entirely trouble-free.
When the luggage started appearing on the carousel, my suitcase arrived safely, complete with Jiffy's wedding quilt. Tony's suitcase, however, was nowhere to be seen.
That was a worrying moment, as his case was carrying Kaiy's quilt.
Thankfully, the mystery was short-lived. We discovered that the suitcase had been left behind in Manchester, and the following day we received a phone call to say it had arrived and was ready for collection.
What a relief that was.
By then, Tony was very pleased to be reunited with both his belongings and his razor, and all of the quilts were once again where they were supposed to be.
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I did take plenty of photographs along the way, but thanks to Tony's current photo-management system, which involves uploading all images to 'the black box' at home, then downloading them to this machine, then, then, then. I haven't sorted them out yet, in fact I swore and gave up!
To be perfectly honest, it's all far too complicated for me right now.
I'll save the photographs for a proper photo-dump post once we're back home in New Zealand.
For now, I'm concentrating on enjoying my visit.
My brother already has a list of treats he'd like me to bake, so I suspect there may be some kitchen adventures ahead.
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The most important reason for this trip is, of course, Jiffy and Jonathan's wedding.
At the moment, Jiffy and my dad are away sailing somewhere along the west coast of Scotland. They'll be back next week, and then the real family catch-ups can begin.
Until then, I'm settling back into island life, enjoying familiar faces, and appreciating the fact that the journey is finally behind us.
I'll be back with more news soon. Right now, I'm going for a walk. I might visit some of my old haunts.
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