Well guys, this is it. My adventure has come to an end ad I'm sat nursing a poorly head in Auckland (we had a few farewell bottles of wine last night!). I have my airport transfer booked and my ticket is ready. There's no going back now - I am homeward bound!!

We arrived in the big city yesterday and returned the Spaceman back to his owners. It was so sad dropping him off, we felt awful. I think it almost compares to the feeling when you leave a child on their first day at school! Well, maybe not that traumatic but still. It was odd not having our wheels after a month. Had to get the train back to the city centre ad everything - tut!

North Island has a totally different feel to the South Island. We crossed over on the ferry on the 18th. You travel across the Marlbrough Sounds which are stunning. The weather was sweet as (one for you travellers!) and the sky lovely and blue. It was actually a better boat ride than when we went to Milford Sound. The weather can have such an impact on some places. We got to Wellington just in time to find a camp site and have tea. Perfik. We did a little exploring in the capital the following day. I liked Wellington, although it was a Sunday so very quiet. We went to the Te Papa Museum which is huge! And went on the vintage cable car which takes you on a steep journey to the top of the botanical gardens so you can get a great view of the city. We moved on and stayed at Otaki Beach that night, again just in time for another amazing sunset. The one thing I'm going to miss more than anything is being able to watch the most beautiful sunsets. It's just not the same in the West Midlands!

We headed north to Tongario National Park where the weather turned rubbish so we just did a tiny walk to a waterfall and headed back to the camp site. Sorry - not a camp site, we stayed at a place where we could use all of the hostel facilities but had to sleep on the carpark in the Spaceship! That felt strange!

After that we drove to Taupo where.......I did another skydive!!!!! Oh my god it was awesome. This time I did the highest jump from 15,000 feet. We were drining into Taupo past the biggest lake in New Zealand, the sun was shining and I thought. Great day for a skydive over the lake. So I did! Rang them up and a couple of hours later I was all dressed ready for action. However by the time jump time came around it had really clouded over. We still went up as they wanted to see if there were any breaks in the cloud but it was a no go and we came back down in the plane. That was an odd feeling, landing in the plane rather than on my feet with a paracute! A little while later in the distance it looked like there was enough of a break so we went up again and this time - we jumped!! Such a rush when you first leave the plane. This time the freefall was over a minute long and we fell at over 200 kilometers p/hour! I did superman poses, blew kisses and even did a 'bruccie' for my photographer and I have a wicked dvd. I can't wait to see how it compares to my first one in Africe. Mom's a little worried I've become hooked on skdives and turned into an adrenaline junkie I think! It is the best feeling. I'm glad I didn't bother with a bungy, skydiving is the was forward I think!

After all the fun of Taupo we heded to Rotorua and stopped off at the Craters of the Moon which is an area af geothermal activity. Basically lots of smelly steam coming from the ground and bubbling mud pools. We also went to the Hidden Valley which has more of the same and a few guysers but only a little one erupted while we there. We went to a Maori cultural evening. We watched traditional dancing and games being played, the Haka warrior chant and singing which was great. We had a huge meal too which had been cooked the traditional Maori way on hot rocks in the ground. There was even Eeel which I tried! Not a huge fan I have to say! It was nice eating out for a change rather than in freezing kitchens. After the meal we went out side and got taken to a floodlit guyser and waited for it to erupt while we listened to cultural stories. We were given hot chocolate and sat on warm stones so we nice hot bots! It was agreat night. Well worth doing we thought.

The next few days were mostly spent just travelling around. We went to the Bay of Plenty and stayed at a boring place called Te Kata where there was Nothing to do! It also had a scratty kitchen so we were glad to leave that one! We went to Gisbourne and Raglan and Hahei and saw some lovely beaches. I think the North Island is more of summer location as there are lovely beaches and coves so not much to do if it's cold. We also visited Cathedral Cove which was stunning. We carried on north to the Bay of Isands but the weather dampened our spirits so stayed at Paihia but left the next day and made our way back down towards Auckland. We stayed at Orewa at the best camp site of them all. This one ticked every box (it even had a big trampoline which we obviously had a go on!) and we didn't want to leave! Here I went to my last beach :o(

So yesterday we arrived in Auckland, the final destination of my journey. Caroline is staying on for a couple of days and then going to Fiji on Monday to do a spot of sunbathing and island hopping - lucky devil! We both felt strange arriving here knowing that we would be parting company. We have spent more time in each others company than with anyone else so the thought of her staying and me coming home alone is so wierd. We have been so lucky to get on so well and I couldn't have wished for a better travel buddy. For my last night we arranged to meet up with Sean who we met and travelled with in Cambodia as he lives here. Needless to say there was wine involved and we had such a great night. I seriously can't cope with it anymore though, the wine that is. But it was worth it!

So I have just a few hours before I'm due to go to the airport and start the 26 hour journey home! This trip has opened my eyes to so many things and given me the opportunity to experience so much. I have met some absolutely fantastic people who have made the trip so memorable and I have made some great friends along the way. The whole experience has been far more than I could ever have hoped for and I feel so lucky to have seen and done the things that I hope you have enjoyed reading about.

See you all soon back in sunny England!

Lots of love

Nic

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