LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING FORWARD

POST #5
The Air New Zealand DC-10,Flight TE901 rolled down the runway at Auckland airport and moments later it was airborne and setting a course for Antarctica.
The date was November 21st, 1978. I had spent the previous day in the Auckland suburb of Devonport with some fellow travellers playing frisbee and then testing out our tolerance to Kiwi beer until the pub closed, after which we contemplated driving a ferry across the Auckland harbour (but that's another story.) The bottom line was that the Devonport experience had made for a fitful night of sleep at the youth hostel, as I didn't want to miss out on this adventure.
So even though my head was a bit fuzzy on the take off roll, after some inflight coffee I was as right as rain, as they say down south, and looking out the window, Mt. Egmont passed under the wing. This was going to be a fantastic day.
Air New Zealand had only started these sightseeing flights the year before, so it was still a unique experience. The highlights of the trip were too numerous to mention however a couple that come to mind all these years later was being in the cockpit while a fellow passenger talked to her daughter while we flew overhead the Antarctic base her daughter was working at. And of course flying over the smoking volcano of Mt Erebus was memorable as well. (Sadly, exactly one year and one week later on Nov. 28th 1979 the same flight would crash into Mt Erebus and leave no survivors.) Our journey came off without a hitch, and as we turned back north towards Christchurch the party atmosphere continued, as we all shared a few drinks and talked about our adventure. The stopover in Christchurch was required for refuelling and I took advantage of the layover to get in touch with a girl I had met earlier in the year in Australia. Jenny came out to visit me at the airport, and the time seemed to get away from us. Soon I was being gently tapped on the shoulder by a flight attendant asking me to come along as the flight was awaiting my arrival. I walked across the tarmac thinking that every eye on board was looking down at me and saying to themselves, "There's the idiot who is delaying our departure back to Auckland." Most likely though, they were just continuing on with their chatter about the day we had just experienced.
In all honesty, I really don't remember much about the arrival back in Auckland but 33 years later I still remember the date.
November 21st, 2011 in comparison is very tame indeed. It will be memorable only for the fact that I say goodbye to my dog buddies of the last 3 weeks, Jackson and Peach, as their owners arrive home tonight from Hawaii. It will be a bit of a shock for them after weeks of sun and surf to come back to the cold and snow, but I'm sure Jackson and Peachs' welcome home will warm their hearts and help them to not think about the weather.
Looking forward from here, I spend tonight at my friends house here in Vancouver (one of whom was present 33 years ago in Devonport helping with our scientific testing of Lion Red beer on North Americans) and then tomorrow I head across Georgia Strait to Nanaimo to begin the next housesit. So it's goodbye to Jackson and Peach until next summer, and hello to Myrtle the dog in Nanaimo, and an opportunity to make a new four legged friend. It should be fun, and it will be great to get out of the big city again.
I'm looking forward to the week ahead and hopefully I will have something worthwhile to talk about next week.
Until then.
all the best,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer