Best laid plans

OK so it's the 8th March 2013 and according to my itinerary, I am in St Augustine embarking on Leg 1 of my croc adventure.  Sadly, something went wrong and instead I am in Auckland - Leg 1.1 - staying in a B&B awaiting the OK to travel.

All was fine until after we took off from Queenstown and I realised my ear was quite sore.  I had felt a twinge earlier, but didn't really think anything of it, so when we began our decent into Auckland I discovered that my ear was in fact very very sore and making some very odd noises.  I chewed on sweets and swallowed every few seconds, but it still hurt.

The guilty ear

Once on the ground, it settled again so I walked to the international airport and went through security.  All was good until I decided to get something to eat and I found I couldn't chew on one side without a lot of pain.  After a lot of deliberation, I went to the Air NZ desk and admitted my sore ear.  They called the airport paramedics who said that I should get it checked before flying.  The Air NZ folk changed my ticket for the next day and phoned around until I had somewhere to stay.

I needed to go to a Dr ASAP to try and get some medication started.  I hoped with 24hrs it would make a difference and I would fly tomorrow.  After dropping my bag at the motel, the waiting shuttle then dropped me off at the after hours Dr.  'Twas a dodgy neighbourhood to say the least!

The Dr was quick and a bit abrupt, and I didn't find myself liking him very much.  And even less so when I asked him if I could fly tomorrow.  He laughed and said it would be a week at least.

So I picked up my prescriptions and went back to my motel to sleep.  Next day I went back to the airport to change my tickets again.  This time they were put on hold until I had a confirmed date.  I then went to Info and asked them to find me somewhere to stay for 3 nights with possibility of longer.  After  20+ phone calls, they came up with a B&B in Devonport that had a vacancy and a price that I could pay.  The cheapest place up until then had been NZ$485 per night!!  Apparently there were several things on in Auckland making accommodation a bit of a premium.  Not a good time to need last minute accommodation.

The Peace & Plenty B&B

So I set off again to find this B&B.  I took the airport bus and then a ferry across to Devonport and walked 3-4 minutes to find myself standing in front of a beautiful, very old, huge, 2 storey house.  I was shown to my room.

Bliss!  So peaceful and comfortable.  I had a little balcony that I could sit out on and watch the birds (and hear them too, although this wasn't so pleasant at 7.15am following morning when 1000 of them decided to sing dawn chorus using megaphones).

I only had that room for 1 night and then moved downstairs to the biggest room in the house!  no more birds yelling in my ear, but sadly no more balcony either.

I went to another Dr on Friday and he agreed that I should wait until next week to fly.  I was disappointed, but I knew I didn't want to fly too soon.

Life in NZ

I've been in New Zealand since September last year taking a break from the manic London lifestyle.

I've spent time in Christchurch with my Godson and his family, time in Motueka where my storage unit is - sorting stuff and visiting friends, Nelson visiting friends, Reefton visiting my brother and his partner, Lake Hawea seeing my mother, sister and brother-in-law and Akaroa visiting my sister and her partner.  And of course many places in between.  I've travelled 10 000km since I bought my car in October and before that I hired a couple of cars to get around.  I've loved the freedom and spontaneity.

It's been great to reconnect with lots of old friends.  Many of whom I hadn't seen in at least 10-12 years.  Some much longer.

I have taken so many photos, I'm struggling to process them.  I've got a bit overwhelmed by photos in fact, so have filed and forgotten most of them for the time being.  I'll hopefully get some posted soon though.

Here's one to whet the appetite…  On the road to Mount White Station, off West Coast Road Canterbury side of Arthur's Pass.  Adventuring with mum and her new camper van!

Cairo photos

Tank sitting at one of the roundabouts near the entrance to our suburb.

The pyramids at Giza as seen from the Citadel.

A mosque in Cairo

The Mohammed Ali Mosque in the Citadel.

Two danger zones in two weeks!

I'm now in Egypt - this year is turning into quite a journey of 'where not to be in 2011'.

After leaving Japan earlier then expected, I returned to London and spent a couple of weeks getting over the shock of what I had experienced Whilst tentatively seeking out my next job. I had told my agencies that I was looking for something gentle - I would even consider a single baby. Something in London and maximum of 5 days a week.

So... 12 days after returning home, an email came through from an agency. A family urgently needed someone to start with them on Saturday - in Cairo!

All the things I was not looking for, but I could not resist the challenge.

When talking on the phone to the mother, she asked me how I felt about being in Egypt after the recent revolution. My reply was something along the lines of 'well, at least in Egypt I will see or hear the danger before it gets to me, unlike Japan where I have no idea if I am breathing clean air or radiation polluted air...'

Two weeks and one day after arriving home from Japan, and I headed off to Egypt.

Radiation

After the earthquake, it became apparent there was a problem with nuclear power plants that were in the tsunami and earthquake struck region.

There was an explosion at the Fukushima plant and hence began a fight to contain what could be the worst nuclear disaster in the world so far.

Radiation was the word on everyones lips. How far was it reaching and what was the real danger. No one really knew. One 'expert' said it was imminent - the plant would reach meltdown and the radiation would spread fast. Another said there was no reason to panic. It was hard to know who to believe and what action to take myself.

We were based just south of Tokyo - about 210miles south of Fukushima. So in theory any radiation that reached us would be diluted by wind and air etc.

After a lot of thought and consideration, I decided I needed to leave in order to keep myself safe. I offered to go with the babies somewhere if the family wanted to get them out. They decided against this.

So my flight was booked and I left Japan on the 18th March, just one week after the earthquake. and a month after arriving in the country. I cut short my contract by 6 weeks and left the babies with their parents and grandparents.

It was such a relief to get out, although I feel huge guilt about leaving the babies. I have avoided watching the news for a week and I guess now it is time to get back into the real world.

Time to look for a contract to replace the one I left...

Earthquake

On the 11 March, all began normally with babies needing feeding, changing and usual care. Playtime and books to be read. Sunny and bright outdoors. A cool wind blowing - to be expected for this time of the year.

2pm the babies got up and had a bottle, then lay on their play mat having a look at their toys. About 2.40pm I went to the kitchen as I was about to make a banana cake. I was looking at my computer screen reading the recipe and thought I saw something move. I stopped and checked myself.

The computer was moving. The ground was moving and it was steadily getting more and more violent. My first thoughts were to the babies. I had to get them off the floor and away from the windows - the living was all windows on one and a bit walls. I grabbed the first one and Grandma took the other. I said we needed to get out of this room and headed for the hallway. We both squeezed into the toilet room with the babies. Grandma called her husband and after a lot of yelling, he finally started to come downstairs.

3 adults and 2 babies jammed tightly into the toilet now! The earth was still moving vigorously and we waited and waited for it to abate. It went on for a very long time - apparently 5 minutes or so, we found out after.

Once it stopped we tentatively left the toilet and headed back to the living area. It was bedtime for the babies so we took them up to their room and settled them in.

No sooner were we back in the living area and another almighty bang shook the house. I ran up the hall and grabbed the babies out of their room, deciding they didn't need to be in there so far away from us. I put them in their buggy and there they slept for all their sleeps until midnight when I went to bed myself.

We had 7 aftershocks, the smallest one a 6.3 on the Richter scale, within the hour. Once I was able to gather myself a little I got online and discovered the earthquake had been 7.9, less then 250miles northeast of us. The rating eventually reached a 9 on the Richter scale a few days later.

The worst part, was still to hit - the tsunami. I was gobsmacked when I turned on the TV to see the water surging inland and destroying everything in it's path. It was shocking and distressing (to say the least) to think of this happening so very close to us.

Japan

I had a contract that took me to Japan for 3 months. I started the contract elsewhere and returned to Tokyo with the family about mid February.

On my days off I went to Central Tokyo and stayed in the family's apartment where I got peace and quiet. It was on the 17th floor so the view was awesome. It was a view I don't think I would ever tire of.

The house we spent most of our time in was just outside of Tokyo, very peaceful and calm compared to the hustle bustle of the central city. We had a beautiful sea view and sunrise every morning was a treat.

I loved my day off, I had the opportunity to wander and explore a city of immense proportions. I hadn't realised while there that Tokyo was in fact the biggest city in the world! Nearly 30million people in the greater Tokyo region. I spent most of my time very central and even then barely scraped the surface of the city.