Our last stop in New Zealand took us from Paihia to Auckland. It is a big city here and we all really noticed the large volumes of people around! It's strange to be back in such a busy place again.

We arrived and first spent a while driving around until we found our hostel, Silverfern backpackers. It is very nice, clean and spacious, exactly what we needed after our camping experience! After emptying out our belongings, it was time to return our campervan. We arrived at the Jucy rental office to be met by one of the office staff asking for me and said someone was inside the office to see me. We didn't really get him as I wasn't expecting anyone and we thought it was a joke and I simply had something to sign. I went into the office and there was no one there, so was still a little confused. The original guy then took me in to a back office where I was met by someone who seemed to know me, but I was still unsure who he was which was a bit awkward! It turns out he was one of my brothers friends, Mark, who he used to work with and had spotted my name on the returns list for the day. He kindly gave us a lift back to the hostel and filled us in on what to do in Auckland, which, for the cities size, wasn't very much. It seems a lot of things to do either require a bit of money, or you have to travel to the outskirts of town. But it was a relief to get rid of the van now!

We had a good sleep that night in an actual bed and had a proper roof over our head which was great! We spent the following morning washing half our belongings as we haven't had much access to laundry services the last few weeks. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and looking around the city. We went into the Sky city complex at the base of the Auckland Sky tower, the tallest freestanding tower in the southern hemisphere. In here there are bars, restaraunts and casinos. It is very snazzy but quite pricey. You can climb the sky tower, walk around the top, or jump off it if you fancy!

That evening we decided to celebrate the near-end of our time in New Zealand by going for a meal down by the harbour which was very good. Jade, Sally and I all had chicken and steak that they brought out on a hot plate and you cooked yourself. We expected it to be precooked and we simply finished off the cooking, but no, we were given three raw pieces of meat to cook at our table, I don't really know what we paid for! But it was very good and a nice setting. Stuffed, we retired to our beds for another good nights sleep.

As our last full day in New Zealand dawned, we made the most of the free breakfast the hostel provides before setting off to the harbour. We took the ferry across to Waiheke island where we had booked a tasting day trip. The weather was great and the island was very pretty. We were picked up at the ferry port by our bus driver/over enthusiastic guide, who was really lovely but had some very boring stories to tell. He was very like Brendan from 'Coach Trip' so he did really suit his job!

We were first taken to Stonyridge vineyard where we were greeted with a white chardonnay to try. The speaker told us about how the grapes grow and history of the vineyard. We were then given a nice red wine to try while they served lunch which was delicious. Stonyridge makes a wine called Larose, which has been voted the best red wine in the world and has maintained this title for the last few years. To just taste this wine costs $16, a glass would cost $45 and a bottle would set you back $220 (a little over £110). We decided to just take their word that it was a great wine!

After lunch we moved onto the Rangihoua estate which produces some five star olive oils. We were shown around the garden and told of the process from combing the trees to collect the olives through production to the final product. We were then given four oils to try with bread which tasted quite different to olive oil we normally use. We could also try out all the olive oil beauty products they produce.

As we had a short amount of time to spare, the driver took us down to the south beach which looked really nice. Not too many people get across to this small island and the population here is really low, so the beach was really untouched. The bus driver made us sit on the bus with the door open and listen to the seaside sounds for a while!

Next, we went to a small brewery and vineyard called Wild on Waiheke. Here we were met with a glass of rose wine and then tasted a couple of their speciality beers. The first beer was a light one, while the second we had to try was a bitter with chocolate, toffee and coffee infusions, the coffee really kicked in in the aftertaste. We didn't particularly rate it. Then, to wash it down we were given their special ginger beer infused with lemon and honey so tasted quite like a lemsip! They tried to sell a shot of rum to mix in, but the other wines were already going to our heads so we passed! The garden shop sold a variety of chutneys and dressings we could try with bread too.

Our final stop was to the famous Mudbrick vineyard. It is set in lovely grounds overlooking the sloping countryside to the sea and across to the mainland and city centre in the distance. It was very pretty. We were given a really nice sauvignon blanc on arrival before having to walk up a steep hill to the top of the vineyards to try grapes off the vines and be given a glass of rose wine. We were given this vineyards history and the processes of making red and rose wine. There were really great views from up here to appreciate as we wandered back to the garden restaurant for our final glass of red wine. Tasting all done and the wine had sufficiently made us all sleepy we were taken back to the ferry. The driver would have taken us anywhere on the island and you had the option to stay longer and explore the place, but we decided to head back into Auckland city.
We had a really lovely day and sampled some really fine wines and beers. Plus, Waiheke island is very beautiful and mostly untouched, so it was really good to get across there out of the city.

After some last minute shopping we returned to the hostel to pack our bags ready to fly to Fiji tomorrow afternoon.

New Zealand has a lot to offer, from adrenalin-filled activities to the sedate countryside to simply take in. The landscape is varied and quite beautiful on both islands. In my opinion the south island is prettier with it's vast mountains, lakes and glaciers, whereas the north island seems a little more cultural with larger cities, yet does have many natural beauties too such as the islands at the north and the geysers and geothermal areas.
It has been a tiring month as we have constantly been on the move trying to fit it all in inbetween having to get our campervan fixed as we kept breaking it or finding faults.
But we have conquered another country and are at the other side of it happy and healthy still.

So, tomorrow we embark on the final chapter of or travels for now. We worry it will go too quickly so we intend to really enjoy every moment!

Amy. x