Hot and bothered in more ways than one

An uneventful flight back to Sydney on the Emirates Airbus, plenty of leg room and brilliant onboard entertainment. Complimentary drinks with dinner was a far cry from when we first flew out of Sydney to New Zealand. Then we flew Jet star where nothing was free and no food supplied. During takeoff, we had a good view of the fire still burning and noticed that one of the houses seen yesterday had now gone. Even the gondola station was engulfed in smoke. Somehow I don't think they will be open for business for several days. Looking at the Heraldnz news today, a state of emergency had been issued for Christchurch and the smaller fires had merged to create one large blaze.

Arriving at Sydney early evening the temperature was a very pleasant 23°. Not to much traffic on the way back to my brothers but still a significant amount for a culture shock nevertheless.  New Zealand's roads have been a dream to drive on with very little in the way of cars or trucks. In fact, it is the camper vans that seem to dominate the roads over there.

So this morning we had to get to the bank. Someone had got hold of our Australian bank card number and was using it to purchase ladies clothes. Only small transactions but with over 40 made it all totalled up to a large amount of money from our account. Ian put a stop on the card as soon as he realised and we hightailed it to Hornsby to try and sort it out. The lady we dealt with was not very helpful. She said the purchases were all in the last two days and was 'pending'. In other words, the transaction may have gone through but the amount may not necessarily have left our account. We had to 'wait and see' and if the money was taken then, and only then, could we put in a dispute. How stupid is that! Surely they need to stop the transactions now before it is removed from our account. And as for getting our money back... we have to wait and see.

The rest of the day was spent at a place called Brooklyn. A beautiful inlet ideal for swimming and relaxing. Neddie went swimming and how I envied him. No swimming costumes with us and the heat, at 37°, was draining. We will have got to get used to that as Alice Springs is even hotter. It is also the humidity that we will have to endure. Will I ever complain about the cold again? I think not.

And more wildlife seen now that we are back in Australia,

Huge spider hanging in a tree. Notice the smaller one between its back legs. Male perhaps trying his luck. This is one web I would NOT want to walk into!

Bush Turkey