Quick blog update for the last part of NZ before we head off to Oz tomorrow…

After another great breakfast on Sunday (thanks Caroline!), we all headed to Akaroa for the afternoon… Well except for Lauren, who was planning a party at the house in our absence (cleverly disguised as a "meeting" with her friends!) Akaroa is a lovely little town based around a harbour and has a French theme to it (i.e. most of the places are called "Le…" for example "Le shop", "Le pub"…you get the idea!) After a great lunch, we then drove along Banks Peninsula and down to Okains Bay, a really nice quiet beach. The boys were happy because they were able to go and explore the rocks and a cave, Caroline and I were happy because we were able to sunbathe!

After another cooked breakfast on Monday (we've really been spoilt!) we made our way over to Arthur's Pass, with a few scenic stops on-route. Once at Arthur's Pass village, we tackled the "Punchbowl Falls" walk to a pretty waterfall. We then stayed in the DOC camp in the village for the night (but spent most of the evening in the pub in an attempt to avoid the sandflies!)

Given that we've yet to do one of the many jet boat rides around New Zealand, we decided to do the one at Springfield on the Waimakariri River today. It was great fun and very fast - there were a few times when it looked like we were going to hit the rocks, but we just skimmed past them! The scenery was amazing and the water was so blue - fab. We then headed back to Paul and Caroline's for some more amazing food and to pack up the Jucy ready to return her tomorrow :-(

We fly to Sydney tomorrow afternoon. We've got a hotel near the airport tomorrow night, as we don't pick up the new camper until Thursday. After that, we don't know where we're headed... Time to start reading the Australia Rough Guide and pack away the NZ one!