Kiwis Fly to London

Thursday July 8th
Just as well for me, Ka Pai, that I am a nocturnal bird. Wow, were we all up early this morning. The flight out to Heathrow from Hong Kong leaves at 8.30am. The bags had to be down in the foyer by 4.15am, so the wakeup call was 3.30. In the end we had to wait for the shuttle to arrive but all went smoothly and we made it to the airport in plenty of time. We kiwis are now flying on a big bird over mainland China. Soon we get to meet to Hemi and start our adventures. I think Mary and Alan are more excited about seeing Mo who is going to pick us up in Dave the Red Peril and take us back to Northolt.
Later ...
It was a long flight and all in daylight. Not a lot of sleeping done by anyone. Some of the views from the window were amazing especially over the rugged northern parts of China and Russia. People had cultivated river valleys between steep mountains in these remote regions; all visible from the air.
Somehow we got ahead of time and landed half an hour early at Heathrow. We flew in over London and all the great landmarks were easily viewed from the air. For once there was no waiting in the stack and we landed straight away. Once on the ground though we taxied for nearly 20 mins to get to terminal 1 and what a dump it is. A quick trip through immigration and customs and a check of the phone to find a message from Mo. Said he was at work but would get away to pick us up if we sent a text. Waited and waited for him or a text and sent another and another. Finally got a reply saying he had been in a meeting and out of coverage but he would be there in 20mins. That was the easy part. Actually coordinating points proved a bit trickier and he ended up having to go into the car park, which we had all been trying to avoid. So into Dave and off to TESCO to get food. Bought cooked chicken and salad so we could all have dinner together. Mo (Hamish) went and got Louise and we had a pleasant time chatting and giving them all the NZ treats; Marmite, Poweraide blackforest chocolate, pineapple lumps, chocolate fish, grainwaves, etc. Oh dear forgot the cookie time biscuits! The bags are lighter again now.
The welfare house is huge and has everything you could possibly need. It is not actually on the base but in a private road of other airbase semi detached houses. It is very green and leafy and there are squirrels in the backyard. The central line to London is right alongside so easy access to London will be great.