28 May 2011:

Arriving back at Logan's place in Parnell, Auckland - I crashed on his floor whenever I was in town after moving out. Auckland was my hub while in the South Pacific, as it has cheap flights and many of my friends. I amassed my tickets over 2-3 months during my ridiculously long notice period, as I was teaching. Nearly all of my tickets were from grabaseat.co.nz, Air New Zealand's sale site. They have great deals there, and so far, is my favorite airline.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-nz-to-sf-day-15.html

28 May 2011:

View of the reefs on takeoff. I wished I had the chance to visit the reefs, as these are the second-longest double barrier reefs in the world, the longest being the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-nz-to-sf-day-15.html

28 May 2011:

Walking to the plane on the tarmac is always a special moment for me - the last time being outside in a place where I don't know if I'll ever return to.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-nz-to-sf-day-15.html

28 May 2011:

In the morning, Jérôme drove me to the airport. I handed over the SIM card I had bought using a combination of bad French and hand motions. Everything is expensive here, the SIM card set me back about $100, including some calling credit, but it was worth it, especially for couchsurfing.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/05/2011-nz-to-sf-day-15.html