After ambling around Christchurch for a couple of days we were rested and ready to leave New Zealand for Australia. Akhil managed to fit at least seven more flat whites in before the departure and I dragged him around a fair amount looking for a new pair of pants. (No luck.) We just missed the Christmas parade Saturday afternoon - turning in our rental car with more than 2400 miles added to the odometer. It looked like it needed a good scrub.

New Zealand is a surreal place - you get a real sense of what truly "unspoiled" land is like - it's raw, even crude at times despite all its well-marked tramping tracks and sightseeing flights. On the other hand, you can see the development happening before your eyes and it's clear that this won't last forever. The hyperactive focus on tourism and real estate will take care of that - but it's amazing that there's any place left on earth that can feel like a "new frontiere." Somehow it's very foreign in that way... and stepping off the plane in Sydney was something of a relief. Like we're part of the world again. This is a huge, invigorating city, with a population of 4 million - about the same as the entire country of New Zealand! We spent our first day just hanging around the harborfront area - The Rocks, the Opera House, and took a ferry out of to the suburb of Manly. There's a whole bar scene just underneath the opera house with live music and terrace tables with a view of the Harbor Bridge - even the locals hang out there. One thing would make it so much more fun - having some friends here to travel with! Any takers?