Grandma and her boys

Sunday 30 September 2007

Grandma's journey home Saga


Or rescuing Grandma,

I am back...with the cold and chest infection, if it was around I picked it up in the week away, .

Had the worst day ever when I left NZ........must tell you about it, even if it is only to make you smile...it is okay you can do that ......I am actually laughing about it now.

Air New Zealand were cancelling flights left right and centre due to a fault with a planes undercarriage failing, a plane had to land day before with no undercarriage, so all planes of that design taken for checking that was good and reassuring.
Great, everything was going okay packed and just off out to do final shopping, when I have a call from Kathryn..."have you checked your flight from Rotorua to Auckland as they are still cancelling flights" , so slight detour and go to Air New Zealand Office.
Just my luck on day I leave every thing up to the 2pm was cancelled from Rotorua to Auckland and they could not guarantee the 3pm which I was booked on .......so at 12noon we had to make the decision to drive or not...yeap! we drove 3 hours to Auckland arrived in plenty of time all "hunky Dory", you would think the day would go okay from there but NO.... Iain and family dropped me at the door only 2 hours to go no need to stop, said goodbyes and they winged their way back to Rotorua.
What you need to know he has no mobile as only resident in NZ a week and that had to be organised ...and not on the priority list.... easy he said " you could live a few days with no phone". So gave him said Sim card to use till he gets organised as I leave him at airport.

Checked in.... went to pay my 25$ exit tax Oh!! " ;^***%" I had left my wallet in Iain's car and had NO money not a cent or credit cards, No Airport Tax no leaving Auckland........ easy just call him back. No such luck my phone now has Dubai Sim card in, NZ Sim given to him to use, yeap! you guessed it Dubai phone does not work in NZ and I then remember he has NO mobile phone on him in which to use the said Sim card ***?!!** my Language is now getting really choice.
Solution!! call Kathryn who lives and works in Auckland, I then looked for a kind person on a desk, any desk I was not fussy, who would let me make a local phone call.......8 desks later all had refused, I would not have minded if it had not been a FREE local call . Come on Auckland where is your kind helpful side, not a good introduction to NZ for a visitor...luckily I was not a visitor.
Finally found a nice lady on an information desk so called Kathryn at work in Auckland she rescued "grandma" with money and a shoulder to cry on just 45 Min's before take off of Emirates flight. ( Another month and she would have been living in Hamilton 1 1/2 hours away...so I counted my blessings) So panic over and we took off on time.....
So somewhere in the air is my wallet and all my cards including all driving licenses winging its way to me by FedEx.....thanks everyone for every thing you did on that day...Love Grandma x
Gee was I glad to see Dubai yesterday.

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