So this is now our final day in New Zealand before we fly to Melbourne. On our second to last night in Auckland we went for a meal with Gareth and Jared who we had travelled for about a month with in South America. It was really good to catch up with them again now that they are back home in Auckland. We went for a really good curry before they took us to a couple of spots which provide excellent views of the city. Although it was dark, the views were pretty spectacular with everything lit up and showed us how massive Auckland actually is. We said our goodbyes and hopefully they might visit us in the next couple of years in the UK.

Today has been really leisurely as we get sorted for our flight tomorrow. We've managed to do a but of much needed laundry and stock up on some toiletries as we fear they may be more expensive in Australia. Tonight we are going to grab something quick for tea before we have an early night as we need to be up at 4 to catch the shuttle to the airport at 5. Our hostel, Newton Lodge, has been really nice for the last two nights. We've managed to afford a private room which has a set of bunk beds in it. The other big plus is that the wifi is fast and completely free. This is a first for New Zealand and we would have just discovered this place on our third and final time in Auckland!!

As we are now at the end of our travels in New Zealand, we thought we would share a summary of the country:

In Beth's words, it's amazing!! We can't understate how much of a great time we've had in New Zealand. From Christmas in Taupo with some new friends to New Year in Wellington with my brother and the three of us climbing around the Franz Josef Glacier it has all been great. I think we would both say that our favourite place was Queenstown. There's so much to do there and the scenery is truly out of this world. We also really liked Rotorua and Taupo on the North Island whilst the scenery on the South Island is the best we have seen all trip. It even trumps Bolivia!!

We would both say that New Zealand has been our favourite country so far and it's been nice to have all of our transport sorted and not have to worry about booking buses on a daily basis. After 10 days in Australia its onto South East Asia and back to what we would call 'proper travelling'. Surprisingly, we are both looking forward to it.

Farewell New Zealand, we shall never forget you!!