Leaving tomorrow

Well, I thought I better create the blog before I left Finland as I really don't know how long it will be before I can get on line when I arrive in Wellington. I have managed to pack nearly everything on my extensive list. There are a lot of gadgets...and cables, enough clothes for the NZ summer and a minimal amount of kit for hiking. I reckon even Stephen Fry would be jealous of the gadget bag. Seems I am about 6kg over the 20kg hold luggage limit, so I'm hoping for a no-hassle reception at the Finnair check in desk tomorrow evening. It would be nice to get going without even more stress....and I really tried to keep my own weight down over Christmas ;-)

It's not an easy task, packing for five months away. But leaving for such an extended trip away from loved ones is more difficult. At least I don't want to have to think about packing tomorrow - anything. 

I am flying Helsinki-Frankfurt (Finnair), then Frankfurt via Singapore to Sydney (Quantas) and then Sydney to Wellington (Quantas). It is about 36 hours door to door. Having done Helsinki-Auckland once before I am really hoping that there is some sort of legroom in Quantas' planes. Last year the KLM Jumbo between AMS and KL was agony. 

Last minute preparations also included successfully jailbreaking my new iPhone 3G and hoping that the DevTeam also get the 'yellowsn0w' 3G unlock published as they promised. I'll write more about the mobile technology later. Needless to say it's a crucial part of the research I'm going to be doing in NZ. My intention is to try and post to this blog nearly every day. Let's see...