I just had the most stressful morning of my life..

As I've been shouting from the rooftops to everyone and his dog for weeks, I was supposed to be flying to NZ this morning..
Being me, so always paranoid about missing flights, I spent the night at the airport (just in case the 5.30 bus didn't get there in time for an 8.40 flight).. so I was the first person at check in when it opened.
I produce my ticket, the girl behind the counter looks through my passport and first off tells me 'Your visa expired in July'
It doesn't, it expires on Saturday, which is why I was leaving then-
she asks to see my visa for NZ.. I tell her (as got from the immigration website) that as a UK citizen, i don't need a visa for visits under 6 months, I just need a return flight booked. She says okay, and asks to see the return ticket.

5 minutes later, she comes back and says 'But you don't have a visa for Australia, for the return flight'
I say I was planning to apply from NZ.
She looks at me blankly, then says 'But you need to already have the visa before they'll let you in. I'm sorry, I can't let you on this flight.'

I say, okay, can I apply for a visa or something here- I mean it's an airport.. seems a logical place for an immigration office.

But you can't apply for an Aussie visa from inside the country.. and they won't let me out without one..

Unless I buy a ticket back to the UK.

Now.. I don't really have much money on me, I'm cutting this trip pretty fine, and pretty well banking on having a tax rebate come through, which is due in the next few days- I definitely can't afford to buy a plane ticket I don't even want back to the UK..

By this point, I'm getting pretty stressed- my visa's up in 2 days, I don't have enough money to buy a ticket out, and I can't even afford to apply for my second year visa- if you apply in the country, you have to have a $400 medical check, on top of the price of the visa..

At this point, the guys at Virgin, who I was supposed to be flying with just went 'well, nothing to do with us' and walked off..

Fortunately, there's a lady at one the other flight desks who is a bit more a) clued up and b) incredibly helpful
who figures out she can sell me a ticket for $1400 to the UK, which I can cancel as soon as I get to NZ, and get an (almost) complete refund... then use the ticket I already have back to Australia.

I basically have to pay another $100, in cancellation fees, and I can still go.

So I try phone my parents- to try borrow some emergency money.
Normally, they're pretty predictable- Mum always works thursdays, and she gets up early- so they're never out on a wenesday night after about 9.30.
But they are tonight- in the UK it's after 10, and they're definitely not in..

I call about 10 times.. then realise I actually have my brother's mobile number somewhere, so call him (in a MAJOR panic, having misread the board, I think I have 35 minutes before the plane goes- I really have 2 hours)
Now.. I feel so bad about doing this, 'cos this is the first time I've called him in the year I've been here, but I ubblove

my bro..
He goes 'okay, put it on my credit card, if it gets refunded, I pay the extra $100, he gets his money back, minus a few days worth of interest'

Except the system refuses his card.

And his other card.

Both fully paid up- nowhere near maxed out- no-one can figure out the problem.. and now the flight's getting closer..

Eventually, we discover the card company put the card on hold 'cos he hadn't used it in a bit, but failed to mention this to him..

10 minutes before boarding, he finally managed to get his card reactivated, and buy the ticket..

I go back to check in, final call, the girl looks at the ticket and goes 'but this says you're coming back to Sydney before the UK'..

I'm a total gibbering wreck by this point,- since when did you need a visa to go through an Airport (except the US, okay)?? She was seriously not going to let me on the damn flight after watching me panic for 4 hours because I would have to pass through Sydney airport when I didn't fly on a ticket I wasn't going to use..

But..

I made it..

Just.
12 hours early for a flight, and I still only *just* manage to catch it..

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