On Saturday I headed roughly three hours west across NZ to Mt Cook - the tallest mountain in the southern hemisphere - before going up to Christchurch the following day to return 'home' to Sydney.
Once again each journey was totally different - the trip to Mt Cook across barren yet beautiful hills, and then through the greenest countryside imaginable to Christchurch.
My night at the foot of Mt Cook and by Lake Pukaki was special. Normally if I say that about a Saturday it will have involved a win for Norwich, shit loads of alcohol, a nightclub and then a random shag. On this occasion it merely involved the clearest night sky I have ever seen in my life (ok, that is officially the last of the 'I have ever seen' remarks from NZ), nice wine and keeping warm inside the van while watching DVDs.
On Sunday I awoke to find the sky dominated by the rainbow you can hopefully see in the photo at the top of this post. To say I was mildly disappointed to be leaving NZ after just eight days would be a bit like saying Guantanamo Bay isn't exactly a five star hotel. I can see why people spend months exploring these islands, doing little else but taking in the surroundings.
When I got to Christchurch - by far and away the most 'English' city I have come across during my trip - I had clocked up more than 2,600km. I felt tired, but apart from nearly running out of petrol on one occasion, it had been a remarkably stress-free experience.
My taxi journey to Christchurch Airport after dropping off the van epitomised the warmth New Zealanders extended to tourists - in my experience, anyway. The driver enthusiastically quizzed me about where I had been, what I thought about the country, if I would come back and so on. Then when we got to the airport, I realised I was roughly $3 short of my fare. There were ATMs at the airport, but the driver told me not worry. "Enjoy your flight. I'm glad you had a good time here," she said.
The flight back to Sydney was also great. It was an Emirates service bound for Dubai, so I was treated to all the trappings of a long haul flight but for a comfortable three hours.
A perfect end to a great week. Then it was back to work the next day...
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