My last few days were spent travelling back up to Auckland and seeing some of the city sights I hadn`t yet seen such as the Sky Tower and quaint Devonport. As I came full circle back to where I`d started this adventure 27 days earlier, I was feeling sadness at having to say goodbye to this lovely country and it`s wonderful people. My relatively unplanned trip had brought me into contact with my old friend Lou and her forever gorgeous hubbie Jamie, slightly home-sick recent expats Tina, Robbie and Stef and their cute puppy Indie, mad Yvonne, to whom I owe a great deal for truly shaping the direction of my trip, Carl and his much extended family for unparalleled Maori hospitality, `The Dutchman` Frank who never ceased to make me laugh, Tom `Inspector Clouseau` Church and his amazing moustache and of course my far away family Pam & Johnnie.
As I reflected on my experiences horse riding across the beach, sleeping out under a million starts, floating above a basking sting ray, eating cheese and biscuits in front of Mt Taranaki, tramping the Tongariro Crossing and jumping out of an aeroplane, I felt extraordinarily lucky to have had the opportunities that I`d had and I only wonder when I`ll return to this amazing country.