Good day mate!

27 hours = how long we've been travelling. We have about an hour to wait for our final flight to Auckland, which is three and a half hours. We have had fairly uneventful travels so far. The UNC/Ohio game was on at the Dallas airport, so our layover there went by quickly.

Of the hundreds of people on our giant plane to Brisbane, we ended up sitting next to a gentleman from Wichita. What a coincidence! I had a very nice chat with him at the beginning of our trip for about three hours. He is originally from Ireland and has been living in Wichita for about 15 years. He was travelling to visit his son's family in Brisbane. I learned a lot from him about Ireland, and he shared many interesting stories with me about his life, Ireland, pretty much everything. Thankfully, I then slept off and on for eight hours, probably getting the equivalent of five or six hours of sleep. Grant slept almost that whole time, so he got a bit more sleep than me. He will be driving, though, so it's better that he's well rested.

Upon arriving in Australia, we had to clear security a second time and I mistakenly left a water bottle in my bag. The security was pleasantly kind, even at six in the morning. The gentleman that helped me told me that the flight we were on is the longest flight in the world. Crazy! So, now we can say we've survived the longest possible flight. I wouldn't recommend it.


UPDATE: We are now in Auckland. Upon arrival, our luggage was nearly the first out and we cleared customs without a hitch. Smooth transition to New Zealand. I'm loving the accents, and the driving is a bit crazy. We're getting used to everything - I keep reminding myself that I go to the left side of the car as a passenger. I'm sure we will be used to it by the end of our stay. On the drive to our hotel, I was already taken by the amazing scenery. The trees are so lush and green, and they are everywhere. Auckland is even more beautiful because there is a large harbour here. We are looking forward to exploring some of downtown Auckland tomorrow.


We miss some American things, and are enjoying the differences here. What fun to become immersed in another culture and experience their life. Hopefully I will post pictures soon. I am too tired to upload pictures and add them to the post.

Love, the George family