Finally - a conclusion

As you'll already know if you've read all the blog you'll realise that we had an excellent time. New Zealand is a wonderful country, with fabulous scenery and really friendly and helpful people. The roads are good, and (certainly when we went) don't have a lot of traffic outside the major cities, so driving is easy and relaxed.

You sometimes hear people say that New Zealand is like England was 50 years ago. I think that's a bit unfair as it makes NZ sound backwards, which it certainly isn't. But what is 'old-fashioned' is the politeness you get everywhere, the fact that everyone is willing to help, the quietness of the roads - and very refreshing all that is. Also little things like the fact that most cafes, bakeries and even supermarkets sell fresh, made on the premises, sandwiches.

So if you ever get the chance to go to New Zealand then go. Do your planning then go to a specialist travel agent/tour company (we used Kirra Tours in London, and they were excellent - thanks Hayley). And, like us, you'll have a superb trip.

Thanks to everyone who has followed this blog to the end.

That's all folks...

Pictures!

Now available at http://www.scorer.me.uk/Holidays/New%20Zealand/index.html

Sorry for the delay

My apologies to anyone still waiting for the summary. I'm currently sorting through the 1900 pictures I brought back trying to work out which ones to put onto the web. Once I've done that I'll do the summary and let you know where the pictures are...

The journey home

Just a quick post about the trip home. As on the way out the service, food, and, in particular, wine was excellent. But it's a very long journey (about 30 hours in total) - and whilst we got some sleep we are still tired.

But we survived, as did the bags, and the taxi was waiting for us when we left customs. The M25 and A1 were moving well, so we got home within 2 hours of landing.

I'll try to post a summary of the trip in a day or so - so keep reading!

We're back...

...and we've got the cats.

We're really tired, so I'll do an update tomorrow.

On our way home

We're sitting in the domestic Air New Zealand lounge at Christchurch. The international terminal isn't open yet, so we've gone through security to domestic departures to get access to this lounge (with free food and internet). Later we'll go back out through domestic security and then through international security to get to our flight.

We didn't do much this morning, as it was a bit damp. We did some final bits of shopping and got some pictures around Cathedral Square. Then we got a taxi out to the International Antarctic Centre where we experienced an Antarctic storm, met a Little Blue Penguin, and had a ride in a Hagglund (Antarctic all-terrain vehicle).

So now we have an 80-minute flight to Auckland, then 27 hours to London.

The end is nigh...

... and what a way to finish!

The trip today was excellent. As it was a smallish group we weren't in the converted lorry, but just an oversize 4WD - with a great group of people. After driving to Springfield (which was selected as one of the locations for the premier of the Simpsons Movie - and has a large doughnut to prove it), we went off-road into a large High Country Station (10,000 acres). The picture shows the sort of terrain we were covering - quite a lot of it along the river.

After bouncing over that for quite a while, we went for a jet boat ride on the Waimakariri river, with a number of 360 degree spins and close encounters with the gorge walls. After lunch (sensibly provided after the 4WD and jet boat) we went to Arthur's Pass to catch the TranzAlpine train back to Christchurch.

Dinner in the hotel provided (at last) the slow-cooked lamb we've missed so far - so all in all an excellent last full day of the holiday. Tomorrow we think we'll wander round Christchurch in the morning, then go to the International Antarctic Centre on the way to the airport to get used to the weather back in the UK.