first of all thank you for all your bits of info on Bali. We are going over in April for 15 days and staying at the Bali Garden Hotel, yes, most Kiwis flying to Bali have to go via Australia (and we have had many enjoyable holidays in Aus)you can also go via Malaysia/Singapore or Thailand probable the long way around but you can stop off on the way over or back to recover.
And yes I am a Kiwi born and bred and live in NZ, my father in law was Sydney born and bred and was part of the Packham (pear) family.
Time to stop taking the piss out of each other except on the sports feild, remember ANZAC.I think this site is run by 2 Kiwis from Auckland. See you all in Bali.