Day 21 27/2/13 Auckland to Christchurch to Sydney

Our last day in NZ and we travelled from Auckland to Christchurch for our flight back to Sydney. It has been a fantastic trip and we have seen some remarkable places, with such genuine friendliness from all we have met and great service and food..and oh did we mention how good the coffee is and not to forget to mention how good the wines are as well! We have had wonderful sunny weather with an average temperature of 24 degrees and driven 4579 kilometres with an average cost of petrol about NZ$2.22 litre. In all our sightseeing we have "tramped" on average about 8k each day, with one day being over 13k, so we think this has helped with the treats we have enjoyed!! We will now think about what are the best things of the trip which will be difficult however we have over 1300 photos to help us do that. In reflecting the South Island had lots of motor homes and bike riders, oh boy we felt for them on the hills and was spectacular with its alpine terrain and glorious mountains. The natural bounty of penguins, fur seals, birdlife and other creatures along with the sheep and all so very green and most of the time you had the roads to yourself. The North Island had less sheep, more dairy cattle, lots of fertile rolling hills and amazing ridges and valleys. You see more industry with lots of forestry and logging trucks and many wineries and of course more traffic. We have been to KatiKati, KeriKeri, Matamata and RamuRamu and seen many quirky things and many WOW, WOW and "isn't it beautiful" moments. Haere ra, we hope you have enjoyed the blog of our journey through this magnificent country.