Back Home

We have made it safely back home to Canada and are now in the processing of unpacking and getting back up to speed here. After we left the South Island we travelled through Palmerston and up to Auckland where we sold the car before flying back home. We had been worried about selling the car but after we posted it on Trade-me we had text messages and emails coming in like crazy. Obviously we posted it for a good price and so we sold it to the first person who looked at it.

Now that we are home it almost seems like we never left but we will have the memories from New Zealand forever. I know the experience has been a fantastic one for me and allowed me to not only learn a lot about another country but also about myself. I think it has also been a very positive experience for Bree. We will really miss all the new friends we made in New Zealand but with Facebook, email and all the other electronic tools out there it is much easier to stay connected.

Thanks for following the blog of our adventure. I hope it kept you up to date on our whereabouts and for me it has been an excellent way to journal our travels and experiences in New Zealand.

Heading Back to the North Island (June 24)

After our nice relaxing stay at the Lake Heron Station we headed back to Christchurch for a quick visit with Nadia, Daryl, Paige and Fin. Bree was excited to see Paige again and they instantly started begging for a sleepover. Since we were only in town for one night we decided that it would be ok as long as Paige was back home in time for school the next day. I took Paige, Fin and Bree to Chipmunks, an indoor kids play place and then we grabbed a snack. Later we went with Nadia and Daryl to the Westcoast Bar and Grill for dinner. This time Russ was feeling better so he got to enjoy some of their good beers! The food was great and we had a nice evening.

The next day we dropped off Paige and said goodbye. Then it was just a short drive to Hanmer Springs. Hanmer is a very popular area as it is near a ski field and also has natural hot pools. Fortunately for us it is pretty quiet here mid-week so we were able to get a nice motel at a discount. For the first time in our entire trip we had free internet and it was actually a decent speed. Needless to say Russ and I took full advantage of it finally getting up to date on our emails and postings for the blog etc. The town of Hanmer is quite small and we were able to walk everywhere. We spend the first afternoon at the hot pools which have spa pools, a warm swimming pool, a family pool, a waterslide and the “superbowl”. It was a beautiful sunny day and it did not seem like winter at all. This was good as all access to the pools is outside and the same for the waterslides. So although the water in the slides is warm you still have to walk up all the stairs in your swimsuit in whatever the outside air temperature is. The waterslides were fun, especially the one called the black hole which was entirely black inside making it feel like you were going really fast. The superbowl is a cool ride where you go down on an intertube and shoot out of the tunnel into a large open bowl which you circle around in until you drop to the bottom and then out the second tunnel to the end. Bree loved the slides and made good use of her pass.

Hanmer is also home to a variety of walking and biking trails and since the weather was so nice both Russ and I were able to get out for some short runs and enjoy the forested park area. We ended up staying for two nights as we knew this would be our last vacation type stopover before driving up to Auckland and trying to get organized for our flight home. From Hanmer we drove to Picton and ended up catching the evening ferry as the ferry for the next morning was already full. This had us arriving in Wellington at 11 pm, a little later than we would have liked but at least we are now back on the North Island and it is just 10 to 11 hours of driving separating us from Auckland. Our plan now is to head up to Palmerston North and spend one evening there so that Bree can have a sleepover with her friend Layrah and I can tie up a few loose ends.