So i arrived Sydney on the night before my mother would arrive and i paid an extra hundred bucks to get on the same flight as her to Auckland, but leave it to mom's United flight to arrive Sydney late and all i get is a teaser. When i am on my way to the gate i hear over the loudspeaker, "Earl Sullivan, please report to gate G59...". So i am laughing cause i am figuring that mom is getting nervous cause i am cutting the timing down to the wire, but when i arrive she kisses me and gives me the news that because she arrived late, her bags cannot make this flight, so neither can she...I fly on alone. Bummer.
We talk at the gate for a minute or so, hugging, etc. She is so happy to see me and her eyes go glossy as it comes time to part, she has come all this way and gets a mere 5 minutes with her "Baby" as she still likes to call me. The gate attendants are ushering me onto the plane that is due to take off soon and I bid mom farewell and assure her that i will be waiting for her in Auckland with the Campervan.
The flight is smooth and i sleep most of the way to Auckland. Pick up my bags, find the shuttle to the van rental, get the van, easy peasy. Back to the airport and the waiting begins. Mom declared every dang thing she possible could so they were there in customs for like an hour going over all her camping equipment and hiking boots, looking for dirt and unwanted pests that she might be dragging into the country unbeknownst to her. So it took her forever to get through customs.
Finally on the road together we find our first caravan park with powered hookups for the van and made our way out to an Irish Pub for some good hot non-airline food. It was delicious.