Arghh! I had left packing to the last minute, but thought there was plenty of time….until I realised as I printed off my flight details that Air NZ had changed my flight to an hour earlier!

I hurriedly took the unicycle apart and packed it into a wheelbox (thanks Ben from Johnsonville Cycles), which fit perfectly although needed a bit of taping to get the wheel in with tyre inflated. 

Next up was the 35L pack. I had miscalculated the space, because it was pretty tight, and needed room for food/water. Out came the first aid dressings, the Covid rapid antigen tests, the bike lock, the camping utensils and bowl.  That’s better! There is a reason  I went for 35L to stop me bringing too much junk. 

Mum came over and gave me a hand, while Anna went to pick Gryffin up early from Kindergarten. Crisis averted- I made it to airport with 45min to spare.  

I’ll miss my family a lot over the next month, but luckily Wellington is half way. I should be back in 2 weeks.