craigoxbrow

Arriving in NZ, Morgue was good enough to pick me up, arrange crash space (I just realised I didn't get any pictures of Jon, sorry Jon!) and before I even ate anything staright to The Weta Cave.

This proves something of a theme, as witness their public art, climbing Mount Victoria in the rain to get a picture of the location of the first shot in the trilogy, going to Hobbiton which I have dozens more photos of but I'm under NDA so no putting them online... and visiting Dunharrow on the way to the airport.

My phone working proved very handy, as my credit card not working proved rather less handy once I was stuck in Rotorua with no money to get back. Thanks Morgue (again!) for helping there.

Disaster dodging update - I was visiting the wrong island for the earthquake.

Back to Sydney, bringing Weta's Wot Wots for Lily and after two weeks away meeting Amelie and Thomas. Which was kind of the point of going, and got delayed by being too in the way. But I did eventually manage it. And then off, waved off at the platform - trains are defintiely better for emotional goodbyes than planes, since you can say goodbye at the point it actually starts moving rather than a couple hours earlier. Just about managed not to cry, but not quite.

And thence to Brisbane, for BBQ, games, and a ghost tour with Steve D - NSFW T-shirt, Helga and sundry folks visiting them. Just a quick visit, could have certainly managed another day as I'd forgotten about the international date line, so I was on the way to three days in New Orleans before my reason for going there even started. Oh well.