Meyricke Serjeantson

Introduction

After a gap of three years, I have resumed my travels. A combination of Covid and heart trouble have kept me at home for a long time, worried about my own health and also about other people’s. I have travelled little within the UK, haven’t been to London and have not often ventured too far from home. This has not only got me out of the habit of writing but has also reduced my camera skills by a considerable margin. I fear, therefore, that the quality of this diary will be even lower than the quality of my usual output. My main achievement, however, was to complete my journey on time and on schedule. Having had to abandon two journeys due to heart trouble and covid, respectively,  this seemed to be a considerable achievement.

The impact of covid on my trip was quite considerable. It started as soon as I commenced investigating flights. Prices had risen very considerably since my last trip. In the case of Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines, prices had almost doubled. Qantas was remarkably cheap, only about a 20% increase over the same period. Their service, with the exception of the food, was very good. There were a few minor delays but I reached my destinations with a minimum of fuss.

Once in New Zealand, I found a major shortage of both rental cars and accommodation. This meant that I travelled less round the country than usual and spent more time with friends. This, in turn, reduced the volume of both text and photographs that I generated. Many of the readers will consider this a benefit but it left me with the feeling that I could have produced a better diary.

New Zealand also seemed very expensive compared to my last visit. Most food prices were higher than in the UK and, for a country that prides itself on being a low wage economy, this suggests that many people will be struggling. Whilst prices in Australia and Singapore have risen, the size of the increases has been considerably smaller.

The weather wasn’t too bad. New Zealand did have some spectacular storms while I was there but I was well South of the areas of damage. This will add to the price rises in New Zealand, particularly of food. I encountered a few fine days but much of the weather was a bit drab.

In Australia, there had been many major storms but all that I saw of these were the resulting damage to the country roads. There were many areas of road works, which slowed my travel a little. The main weather that I experienced was HOT. Brisbane, in particular, was baking. It seemed to be in the high 30s while I was there.

In Singapore, I met a few, very brief, downpours and the temperatures were normally in the low 30s. I did some long walks there but didn’t find the climate too uncomfortable.

Let’s hope that I am able to repeat the journey next year and that I will better practised at both writing and photography by then.

Meyricke. May 2023