Day 15: G'day Syd

Our final day in New Zealand today. A relatively late start after the
events of the night before but we were up in time to take advantage of
our final 'won' breakfast before then heading to the airport.

Air New Zealand have been brilliant to deal with. In fact customer
service in nz has generally felt great: everyone seems genuinely
happy, pleasant and interested. Check in was a breeze and we got seats
over the wing and by the emergency exits so that we had more legroom.
They even waved through our over-limit bags for no extra fee (they've
put on quite a bit of weight as a result of going through duty free
and the Blenheim wine tour).

We had a great stewardess on the flight who again had just that right
level of joking/taking the piss. I got an aisle seat and she kept a
running tally if how often she could hit me with one of the trollies.

Arriving in Sydney we now have another time change, going back 2 hours
so I think we are now only 9 hours ahead of the UK.

We are in the swankiest hotel by far now called Blue. It's in an old
wool warehouse and combines features like exposed iron work with dark
woods, suede bedhead coverings and bizarre photos from the 1920s of
someone dressed like a mermaid. The reception area looks like a
nightclub with a highlighted seating area in the middle of the room
picked out by red spotlights and candles. It's also the priciest hotel
so far but it's looking worth it at the moment!

Our new neighbours include Bill Clinton and Russell Crowe.