At last! We can get rid of the van!! Oh it hasn´t been that bad. Just not that great either. In total we clocked up 2 flat batteries (nothing to do with Anthony charging his i-pod of course), 1 episode stuck in the mud, 1 run in with a very nice policeman and a smaller than it should have been speeding fine (oops), a month effectively sleeping on wooden slats and bits of foam and waaaaaaay too much petrol for our liking. Just about managed to get it to 100km/hr in its last days and learnt to master the art of ´sticking it in neutral and freewheeling it as much as possible´.

So from crap vans, we made our way to the fancy Ponsonby Road of Auckland and the flash pad of Laura Bradders of South Bank Uni fame. Oooo and were we in for a treat. She and her hubby-to-be had drunk a bit of bubbly at the tennis club a while back and bid for a weekend at a flash bach (beach house) on Waiheke Island. And it just happened to coincide with when we were in town! Wow - architecturally designed, a fridge full of Pol Roger (well 1 bottle) and a view over an empty beach. What an amazing end to our time in New Zealand. It would have been even better had the island not been on Tsunami alert... Every year a day of races - horse, egg and spoon, tractor etc - is held on Onetangi Beach and again it happened to coincide with our arrival! Except the country went into paranoia panic mode following the earthquake in Chile and the beach was shut and the race day cancelled... Dammit. Oh well, sunning it on the terrace was good enough as we clinked the end of New Zealand. Looking forward to some 3 legged races at the wedding in December guys!