Sanday (pictured above) has gone back home. We had a great last few days in the van and the trip up to Wellington afterwards was good too. After having a look at the glaciers on the west coast we headed East to Christchurch again to hand back the van, this meant going through Arthur's Pass which (again) was brilliantly beatutiful. The only slight downer on the way back was our money situation (bloody Queenstown) and the damage to our van, a dent on the back and a chip in the back windscreen. We were praying that the company would be nice and not slap us with a damage fee.

The last night with the van we camped in farm-land just outside Christchurch and finished off the remaining whiskey and beer over a chat about our time in the van. The morning was a tad strange as we were woken up by a voice outside saying, "looks a bit steamed up", i opened the door to find a farmer peering in through the window to see if we were ok...like i said a bit odd but friendly i supose. Driving back we had a quick stop at a cookie factory for breakfast and back into the city center. Leonie and Eric had kindly let us stay again so we unpacked the car there and took it back to the company. The good news is they didnt seem to notice any of the damage AND they bought our snow chains off us for $50! All in all a good day.

The next morning we got the bus then the boat up to Wellington and were lucky enough to see seals on the beach from the bus and dolphins in the ocean from the ferry. A wildlife packed day. The ferry arrived and after a bit of confusion we met up with Charlie and ended up staying with him that night, also went out for a few beers and a very tasty curry for Sandays last night. The day after had a wander around the city, visited the national museum and had a fish and chips before Sanday and i went to the airport for his 30 hour flight back home. I think he is still in the air as i write this message.

At the moment staying with Hibble (Charlie) for a wee while and plan to head up North to see more sights and spend more money. Am slight home-sick at the moment as it is p***ing with rain, other than that thoroughly enjoying NZ.

P.S. thanks everyone for the comments, great to hear from back home.