All my bags are packed.... (5 April)

First step was a domestic flight away from my home town, and there was a glorious sunrise at Palmerston North airport for my departure.

Soon my heart was gladdened by seeing Egmont, the mountain of my childhood,
mostly swathed in cloud but with its peaks poking through,
then over Ruapehu, there was a chance to look down over the crater of this just-dozing giant;
As we approached the urban sprawl of Auckland, fingers of mangroves poked out in the harbour.
It wasn't long before I was on my SQ flight and flying internationally, with glorious daytime views over the vast dry of central Australia.

All these brought promises of the outdoors I was soon to be immersed in.