Our final trek in New Zealand

After our day kayaking in Abel Tasman we were pretty tired with aching shoulders and creaking joints, however, no rest for the wicked and the following morning we woke up to catch an early morning bus to Wellington from Nelson. The bus ride was nice, lovely countryside and a commentary from our driver, and we arrived in Picton by 11:00 prior to catching the interislander ferry to Wellington.

The ferry ride went smoothly, the weather was a lot nicer than our first crossing from Wellington to Picton, so we were able to stand outside and admire the views afforded to us from the ferry. After arriving in Wellington we realised we had two hours to spare so we had a cheeky Maccers and decided to have a little walk around Wellington city centre where we bumped into a friend of ours from our Thailand tour – literally the only Kiwi we knew before arriving in New Zealand – small world, eh?

We boarded a bus at Wellington station, an eleven hour overnighter to Auckland, and tried to get comfy. The bus driver was unusually cantankerous and we figured his attitude must be why he is on the night shifts and not the day shifts where the drivers are friendly and provide a commentary. We were lucky that Nicola is organised and booked our seats on this bus when we were still in Sydney because we actually booked the last two seats – we would have been stuck if she hadn’t been so organised, or if she had listened to me and not bothered until we arrived in New Zealand.

The journey was long at first but we soon nodded off and before we knew it we had arrived in Auckland tired, sleep deprived and looking forward to heading to Fiji; our final destination before flying back to the UK. We killed some time in Auckland, actually in the first hostel we stayed in, and bought a few souvenirs before heading to the airport to wait for our flight. We are going to miss New Zealand, the friendly people, the beautiful scenery, and the fact that Kiwis have actually heard of Wales. It won’t be the last time we visit its shores, but it may be the last time for a few years at least. We would heartily recommend New Zealand to anyone, and we would say don’t be put off by the long flight as the sights you’ll see will make up for it ten times over. I say all that from free will and not under the influence of the tourist board of New Zealand either, in case anyone thought it was a little too positive!