Day 8: Travel day
Nau mai
Inanahi, I hoki mātou ki Aotearoa.
No one arose before the clock struck midmorning and then we took our time getting ready to leave. After a cup of tea and a discussion we checked out and began our search for parakuihi, a task that was made considerably more difficult because of the public holiday. We did a small amount of sightseeing on the way into town, passing through Langley Park and then walking along the waterfront where Liz got very close to a dangerous seabird.
Crossing Langley Park.
Leaving the water behind we passed through Perth’s historic old town, a Georgian era street where you can imagine how there would have been blacksmiths clanging loudly, farriers trimming their horses hooves, butchers hanging sausages on everything, chickens flapping through windows, and raucous haggling and bartering in every corner.
We found a café that was open and it was enthusiastically decorated with pianos and a set of giant cutlery. The food was classic antipodean breakfast fare alongside a Filipino lunch menu. I ordered a Toasted Jezzy – pēkana, tīhi, hēki, hollandaise, and BBQ sauce on a Turkish parāoa. Liz ordered a Dirty Chai and it almost knocked her out.
There were a couple of hours to kill before the flight so we did what every self-respecting person does on a public holiday and headed to the nearest pub, which luckily happened to be an extremely well-curated craft beer hall.
The walk back to the car took us past a couple of impressive Perth features. Firstly the Perth Town Hall, built in 1870, the only town hall built by convicts in Australia, and secondly the two smart benches on Hay Street with their built-in speaker and USB charging.
The Perth Town Hall with its Victorian Free gothic styling proudly displays the time: half-past midday.
Our final voyage in the Kia Carnival was a pleasant one. We took the Graham Farmer Freeway out of the city and then Orrong Road carried us for a few kilometres and connected us to the final piece of the puzzle, Leach Highway (named for Digby Leach, former commissioner of Main Roads Western Australia). As we pulled up to the terminal several keen pairs of eyes in the back of the Kia spotted that there were several Easy Carts lying right alongside the trolley return but not clipped into the rail. These were swiftly nabbed and again $20AUD went straight into The Beths’ investment account.
The look of a man who has just ‘scored’.
The look of a man who didn’t find as many trolleys as his friend.
Jon’s carry-suitcase has had a hard life. Ten years as the chief companion of a busy touring musician had translated into a bung wheel which was beginning to slow the band down. We were all but ready to leave this little red case behind when we had a change of heart. The zips were still good. The handle was still attached. If we could get it home perhaps there was a chance for a repair. The only catch – everyone already had a carry-on bag and we couldn’t afford to purchase another checked piece.
A focused discussion ensued. After a couple of tries at fitting it over the top of my carry on case we changed tack and found a proper solution. The case for the inflatable bird backdrop was emptied of all sundries and these were redistributed around our other luggage, giving us an extra 3kg to play with. The technique was to place the open suitcase in the backdrop case and then fill it with half of the backdrop. The lid of the suitcase was then folded closed and the rest of the inflatable could be stuffed into the remaining gaps. It weighed in at 24kg (1kg over the limit). Jonathan had to do some persuasion at check in but we got it on the plane.
Attempt 1.
We dominate the space around the Air NZ check-in with our repack.
The suitcase all packed in.
This is how you save money on baggage.
The Air NZ red-eye flight from Boorloo to Tāmaki Makaurau is a strange one. You depart at 8pm local time and then arrive 6 hours later, so 2am Perth time, 6am NZ time. We boarded the waka rererangi and put on our tiredest mood in an effort to grab a precious few hours of rest before the New Zealand tour begins.
Ka kite āno.