My return to Auckland was uneventful. There isn’t really much to do there, especially when you have been there twice before. I got to spend a few extra days with Shaun and Neil, two guys I met on the East As trip. I also did some laundry, sent some things home and went to watch Alice In Wonderland which I was every disappointed with. I had fallen in love with Alice after reading the book a few weeks previously and the film was a massive let down. So all in all my return to Auckland provided with nothing to report, then came 5th March, figuratively and literally the longest day of my life. Let me explain.

I checked out of the hostel at 10:00am, I left my bags in Shaun and Neil’s room and we all went to the museum which was quite enjoyable. After returning to the hostel, having something to eat and getting a shower, I made my way to the airport at 15:45 to start my journey to Central America. I boarded the plane at 19:30 and we sat at the terminal for 2 hours. At the last minute before takeoff some guy decided he wanted to get off so the flight crew had to check he hadn’t left anything suspicious on the plane and remove his luggage. It all reminded me of that episode of Friends were Rachael gets off the plane by saying something is wrong with its flangee. Anyway, we finally took off at 21:30 and travelled for just over 11 hours to Buenos Aires. We arrived at 08:30 (New Zealand time) on 6th March however, having crossed the International Date Line the local time was 16:30 on 5th March, 5 hours before the flight took off from Auckland! I hope you’re following me. My flight to Lima departed at 19:45 local time and after four hours we touched down, the local time being 21:45 as Peru is two hours behind Argentina. Then came the really tough part of the journey; my flight to Panama didn’t depart till 07:00 so I had over a 9 hour wait in Lima Airport. I sat around and listened to my IPod, and read my book, I also updated my blog which hadn’t been touched in about 4 weeks. Finally as the clocked passed midnight I finally said goodbye to 5th March 2010, which had lasted a total of 42 hours! If I was my dad, celebrating my birthday, it may have been a great day. But as I had spent most of the day either on a plane or waiting in airports I welcomed 6th March 2010 with open, thankful arms.

After working out all the math I tried to get my head down but it was no use. It’s strange how difficult it is to try and sleep when you have been up so long. It’s as if your body adapts to the lack of rest and is constantly prepared to kick into action. I knew it would all hit me like a sledgehammer to the temple when I landed at Panama City. So seeing as sleeping was beyond my capabilities I reflected on the time I had spent in New Zealand. It had been the most incredible two months of my life; from the time I touched down to the moment I took off I had not had anything that would resemble a bad moment. It really is a spectacular country and everything I was hoping it would be when I set it top of my itinerary for this trip. Of course the stand out quality of the New Zealand is its scenery. It is weird how it can be so alike and completely polar opposite from the landscape back home at the same time. Obviously I had had glimpses of this through watching the Lord Of The Rings films but not until you see the country for yourself do you realise just how special it is. There is no need to go on a LOTR tour because everywhere you look there is a piece of land that could have been used for a scene in one of the movies, it’s all incredible. The diversity of the terrain is shocking and the one thing that will stick with me forever. In the space of a couple of weeks it could be possible to go sailing around the Bay of Islands, surfing at Raglan or Gisbourne, visit steaming mud pools and geysers at Rotorua before climbing a volcano at Tongariro National Park. You could then go caving at Waitomo where you would see glowworms and hit some white water rapids around Wanganui. A brief trip across to the South Island and you could travel through the wine region of Marlborough to Abel Tasman where golden beaches and seals would await you in 30’C heat to be explored by kayak. Your next stop would be to climb a glacier at Franz Josef or Fox before relaxing at the lakeside towns of Wanaka and Queenstown. Finally a day trip to the Antarctic terrain of Milford Sound could be contrasted by swimming with dolphins and whale watching at Kaikoura. The country is simply breathtaking.

I also met some of the coolest people in New Zealand, from Alex and Michelle on the way to the Bay of Islands, Michael the Toffee at Waitomo, Anna, Amie and Tanya and the two James’s on the West Coast and Jim, Matt and Sam in Queenstown and finally Shaun and Neil on the East Coast. I had a wicked time with all of them and hope to stay in contact. I also loved the Maori history and culture, something that was missing in Australia. I especially liked how it is embraced and celebrated in New Zealand rather than cover over and barely spoken of as seemed to be the case with the Aborigines. Add all the above to bungy jumps and skydives and it is easy to see why I enjoyed myself so much over the 2 months. I will take from New Zealand a new sense of adventure. I discovered while I was there that every weekend spent watching football hung over (which are a lot of weekends) is a waste. The outdoors are there to be taken advantage of and enjoyed and I fully intend to do just that as much I possible when I return home.