Back to the North Island

Earlyish start as we  had to be at the ferry by 8am. Once again we were treated to a lovely morning and a nice calm sea. I have been really impressed at the organised way the cars and trucks are loaded on to the ferry and how it's such a quick and easy process.

We got a lovely view of Picton as we sailed away and couldn't have had  a better day to sail through the sounds

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We had hoped to see some Dolphins on the way but no such luck. Evidently a couple briefly appeared alongside the boat but it was right at the time we went inside for a sandwich . The best we saw  were a few fish swimming near the surface and jumping.

As they say, Wellington is stunning on a good day and today was a good day!!

We made our way to Upper Hutt where we were staying the night. From there it all turned to custard as we were so very very tired. We walked out for dinner then went back to sleep. The next day wasn't much better... a slow start as we seemed to have run out of steam. It felt like home was a good idea so about 11.30am we set off on the long trip back to Auckland via the Rimutukas.this is a drive that is absolutely beautiful on a good day, but horrible on a bad day. We were lucky to have a very very good day!!

We drove and drove and drove until we reached Lake Taupo at sunset. The light conditions as we drove along the Desert Road made the whole area look very interesting and quite lovely.

No one swims in Lake Taupo mid April at 5.45 except for Tarun!!

At least it woke him up for the rest of the drive back to Auckland .

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We got back to Auckland at about 10.30pm and straight to bed. We had travelled over 6,000 kilometres and seen a big part of the South Island and a bit of the North. I felt very satisfied that I had seen and done all the things I had wanted to.and I hope Tarun was equally satisfied. He had seen far more of New Zealand than most tourists ever do and still has another month before he goes back to India. 

During the next four weeks Tarun will be spending some time with some friends and hanging out around Auckland. I will be with him for some of this time but will also be getting some of my usual routine back ... two games of bridge planned for this week. On the 6th of May Tarun and I will be going down to Lake Taupo for a week, and will be joined by my daughter and her two children for part of the time. Ben, who will be four years old this week, has decided that Tarun is his very very best friend and will love spending this time with him. 

From our base in Taupo I will also show Tarun the thermal areas around Rotorua and some Maori culture as these are aspects of New Zealand that he hasn't seen yet.

Watch this space.... my blog isn't completed yet.