[New Zealand] Chapter LVII: In which we do not come face to face with an erupting volcano

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When we planned our tour of the South Pacific, we intended to see more than just Fiji and Samoa. Specifically, we knew that we wanted to visit Vanuatu, home to the world's most accessible actively erupting

volcano. We had even bought tickets for a 17 February flight from Samoa to Vanuatu. But as we began enquiring a bit more, we found out that the prices of tourist attractions and facilities in Vanuatu were outrageously overinflated, and when we learned that just entering the volcano park cost US$90 per person (apparently it had cost US$30 a couple of years ago), we decided that enough was enough. We cancelled our flight to Vanuatu, decided to forgo the rest of the South Pacific islands (more than a dozen island nations), and travel instead to New Zealand.

And so it was that on 17 February we hopped from Apia (APW) --- back across the antimeridian --- to Nadi (NAN) and thence --- not to Port Vila, Vanuatu --- but rather to Christchurch, New Zealand (CHC).