Early departure from NZ

After my friend Hells-Bells returned home to the UK, my original plan had been to stay in Auckland for a few months, work and generally get a bit of routine back in my life.  I was holed up at the Brown Kiwi in Ponsonby and hanging out with fellow travel mate Sarah.  It became apparent after speaking to a few recruitment consultants that getting a job in my line of work (project management) for 3 months so soon after New Year wasn't going to easy at all.  I heard this from a few different people, and I then had to think long and hard about my plans.  I didn't really fancy just bumming around or doing some average job, and staying in New Zealand and not working would have cost me too much money....so I started thinking about options.....where can I go....obvious thoughts were to Asia, as I knew it wasn't too far from the lands down under and  I had a great time over there the last time I was on a big trip.

Not wanting to repeat parts I had travelled before, I thought of China.  Oh, how I would love to go to China!  Flights looked reasonable, but when I looked a bit more into it, the weather wasn't really going to be too great - I'd forgotten how far north some of China is!!  Then I wondered if I could get to India, another country on my hit list....and yes, looking at fares with Air Asia, it was definitely possible and I could do a little side trip to Sri Lanka on the way.  So I gave myself the night to sleep on it, and sure I was doing the right thing, I booked the flights the next day.  To get to Sri Lanka from Auckland only cost me about £350 ($500), which I thought was pretty good.  I gave myself a week to prepare and chill out in Auckland.....and then I was off!!

My first leg was to fly Jetstar from Auckland to Coolangatta on the Gold Coast of Australia (NZ$225/£100/US$150) - I've had only good experiences wth Jetstar the times I've flown with them - friendly staff, on time flights and no hassles - perfect.  So there I was, ready to land in Oz for a cheeky one day visit...