Homeward bound

Here I am, almost at the end of my small adventure. Just the one day stop off in Auckland to go after the flight up from Queenstown this afternoon and then I'll be on the long haul home. So what has it been like?
Well you've been with me since the start, so you should have a pretty good idea of what I've been up to. However, there are hundreds of small things which have never featured in my blog, which make NZ such a fun and unique place to visit and I will miss those small things as much as the more obvious features.
To give you just a few examples, heaps of small towns here feel the need to make themselves special in some way. My favourite is a tiny town called Tuatapere in the south of the South Island, which welcomes visitors with a big sign proclaiming itself as "New Zealand's sausage capital"! Fantastic. I love the fact that the tandem paragliders in Queenstown land on the playing field of the primary school - even when the kids are outside at playtime. It doesn't seem to phase the kids and the paragliders just head for a relatively quiet area. When I filled up with petrol in the east cape, the cashier didn't even bother to look at the pump to see how much petrol I had put in, he just trusted me to tell him the truth. People in smaller towns leave their cars outside shops with the engine running and the door wide open while they natter for 10 minutes. Little things like this are as important as the crystal clear air and water, the huge wide open spaces, the lush rain forests and the welcoming people.
So what have I missed while I have been away? To tell you the truth, only two things. The first is people - family and friends - who I am really looking forward to seeing. The second is a pillow. The best part of six months spent sleeping with your head on a pile of clothes every night really makes you appreciate the simple pleasure of a pillow on the rare occasions that one is available!
I hope that you have enjoyed travelling through NZ with me. It's been great to get comments and emails from everyone and I thank you all very, very much. If anyone wants information about anything New Zealand, places to visit, contact details for any trips, or just general information please get in touch. I can thoroughly recommend this as a holiday destination if you are into the outdoors, big scenery, the lord of the rings films, rugby and having fun. If I had to sum up my trip in a few words, it would have to be "sweet as".

By the way, new photos below . . . .